Western Ghats also known as Sahyadri is a mountain range that covers an area of 140,000 km² in a stretch of 1,600 km parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traverse the States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hot-spots" of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It is a biodiversity hotspot that contains a large proportion of the country's flora and fauna; many of which are only found in India and nowhere else in the world. According to UNESCO, Western Ghats are older than Himalayan mountains. It also influences Indian monsoon weather patterns by
intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty-nine areas including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were designated as world heritage sites - twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.
The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southern India. It covers the southern portion of the Western Ghats range and the Nilgiri Hills between 250 and 1000 meters elevation in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India. The Nilgiri Sub-Cluster is a part of the Western Ghats, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012. It includes the Aralam, Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Silent Valley national parks, as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.
The term Malabar rainforests refers to one or more distinct ecoregions recognized by biogeographers:
- the Malabar Coast moist forests formerly occupied the coastal zone to the 250 metre elevation
- the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests grow at intermediate elevations
- the South Western Ghats montane rain forests cover the areas above 1000 metres elevation
Rhacophorus is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae) which together with the related Hylidae makes up the true tree frogs. They live in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. "Amphibian Species of the World 5.6" lists 81 species.
Melanobatrachus is a genus of narrow-mouthed frogs that contains a single species, Melanobatrachus indicus. It is known under a number of common names, including Indian black microhylid frog and Malabar black narrow-mouthed frog. It is endemic to wet evergreen forests of southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of India. It has been recorded from Anaimalai, Munnar, Palni hills, Periyar Tiger Reserve and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
Raorchestes beddomii is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to southern Western Ghats of southwestern India in Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Kannikatti). Its name honours Colonel Richard Henry Beddome who collected the type specimen.
Raorchestes flaviventris is a species of arboreal, nocturnal, frog of the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, South India. Its common name is yellow-bellied bush frog.
Raorchestes griet is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, India. The specific name griet honours Griet Decock, spouse of Franky Bossuyt, the scientist who described the species. Common name Griet bush frog has been coined for it.
Raorchestes ponmudi is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India and like others in the genus has a life-history that involves direct development, the tadpoles develop into tiny frogs within the egg. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests which are threatened habitats. It was first described from Ponmudi hill after which it is named but the species has a wider distribution within the southern Western Ghats and has been recorded in Wynaad, Idukki, and Thiruvananthapuram districts in Kerala, and Valparai in Tamil Nadu. It is a somewhat large species within the genus with males nearly 4 cm long from the tip of the snout to the vent.
Raorchestes travancoricus, variously known as the Travancore bushfrog, Travancore bubble-nest frog, or Travancore tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. The species is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. Its specific name, travancoricus, as well as its three common names, refer to its type locality, Bodinayakkanur in the former Travancore state.
The Kalakad gliding frog or Langbian flying frog is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, India. Its name refers to its type locality, the town of Kalakkad in Tamil Nadu.
Rhacophorus lateralis is an endangered species of rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. It is known under many common names: small tree frog, Boulenger's tree frog, small gliding frog, and winged gliding frog. After its original description in 1883 by George Albert Boulenger, the frog was rediscovered in Coorg in 2000 and has since been found in many parts of the Western Ghats around southern Karnataka and northern Kerala. Along with R. malabaricus, it is one of the few anuran amphibians in India that constructs its nest above the ground using leaves.
Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the Anaimalai Hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, India. It is a type of "flying frog" which can descend aerially, but at angles sharper than 45°.
Ghatixalus variabilis is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It has a number of common names, including green tree frog, though it is terrestrial rather than arboreal in its life style.
Raorchestes akroparallagi is a species of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae.
Beddome's frog may refer to:
