Mercurana

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Mercurana
Mercurana.jpg
Mercurana myristicapalustris
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Mercurana
Abraham et al., 2013
Species:
M. myristicapalustris
Binomial name
Mercurana myristicapalustris
Abraham et al., 2013

Mercurana is a genus of arboreal frogs belonging to the family Rhacophoridae. The genus was named from the only known species Mercurana myristicapalustris, which was described in 2013 from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The generic name was derived from and given as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, the late vocalist of the British rock band Queen, in combination with the Latin name for "frog" ( Rana , which is also the name of the most common frog genus). [1] [2] The frog is different from other related frogs in that it has extensively webbed toes, lives only in swampy lowlands, and lays its eggs on mud with which it carefully mixes leaf litter.

Contents

Discovery and etymology

The type species (holotype) of Mercurana was collected on 18 May 2012 from bushes at the periphery of a temple compound, Arippa, near Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, Kollam district, Kerala, India. It was a single adult male. Other two adult males (paratypes) were found from the same locality on 12 July 2012. The formal description was published on 17 April 2013 in the journal Zootaxa . The generic name was derived from ‘Mercury’ as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, the late singer and lyricist of the British rock band Queen, in combination with the genus name Rana, the most common frog taxa. The scientists chose 'Mercury' because Mercury's "vibrant music was inspiring", in the author's own account. Further, Mercury was of Indian-Parsi origin and spent the majority of his childhood in Panchgani, which is located in the northern part of the mountain range from where the frog was discovered. [3] [4] The specific name is a combination of the words Myristica (a genus of the nutmeg family of trees), and palustris, which is Latin for "swampy", to indicate the swamp forest habitat dominantly represented by Myristica trees in which the frog lives. The forest is particularly noted for its fragile and threatened habitat type in the Western Ghats. [5]

Description

Mercurana are medium-sized frogs; males are smaller measuring 35 mm in length, while the female is up to 65 mm. They have a slender body which is rusty-brown in colour with small black speckles on the back. Females are more greenish-yellow in colour on the back. The dorsal surface of the skin is a rough shagreen. The ventral (front) side is gradually lightened and becomes mostly white. Some areas of the underside of the fore-and hind-limbs have patches of yellow colour. The chest, belly and throat are glandular. The snout is rounded and protruding. Unlike other related species, Mercurana has large webbed toes, while the fingers are free with large discs, and is characterised by the presence of vomerine teeth and lingual papilla. They have distinct dark eyes, with horizontal and oval-shaped pupil. [1] [6]

Biology

Mercurana are arboreal frogs and live in lowland swamp forest. They breed during the pre-monsoon. During the breeding season, males call females at sunset while perched on slender trunks of tree saplings, or branches of understorey vegetation, generally 0.25–1.5 m above the forest floor, during the intervals when the intermittent rainfall subsided. Different advertisement call types were observed. Sometimes males engage in combat with each other for optimal perching sites. The female descends to the male's perch and they engage in axillary amplexus. Then they descend to the forest floor and entered the leaf litter to access the soil substrate below. The female (still in amplexus) used her pointed snout to make a shallow burrow in the soil. She then turns around to position the posterior ends of the pair over the freshly made burrow, and initiates oviposition. A clutch of about 130 non-pigmented eggs are deposited in this nest during a period of about one hour. The female then used her hind legs to mix the eggs with the substrate soil. Then the amplectant pair emerge from the leaf and depart. Motile larvae emerge from the jelly capsule after seven days of embryonic development. Early embryonic development occurs in moist mud after the pre-monsoon rains. The tadpoles are free-living and aquatic. The tadpole is oval and depressed with a brown body and a pale-brown to off-white tail that has translucent fins. The body, tail, and fins have scattered dark brown spots and blotches. [1] [3] [7]

Distribution

Mercurana is endemic to India. The monotypic species Mercurana myristicapalustris has been documented only in the western foothills of the Agasthyamalai Hill Range in Kerala. The habitat preference is also strictly the low-elevation of swampy forest (100 to 300 m asl) dominated by Myristica trees. [1] [6]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Nyctibatrachus</i> Genus of amphibians

Nyctibatrachus is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant members of the monotypic subfamily Nyctibatrachinae.

<i>Micrixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Micrixalus is a genus of frogs from that are endemic to the Western Ghats in India. They are monotypic within the family Micrixalidae. Before being raised to the family level they were classified as the subfamily Micrixalinae within Ranidae. Micrixalus frogs are popularly known as "dancing frogs" due to their peculiar habit of waving their feet to attract females during the breeding season. Dancing frogs are extremely vulnerable as their habitat is severely threatened.

<i>Uperodon montanus</i> Species of amphibian

Uperodon montanus, also known as Jerdon's narrow-mouthed frog, Jerdon's ramanella, mountain dot frog, mountain globular frog, or Malabar Hill frog, is a species of narrow-mouthed frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

<i>Raorchestes flaviventris</i> Species of amphibian

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.

<i>Raorchestes luteolus</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes luteolus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, where it is only known from the state of Karnataka. Many of the known populations are from the Kodagu district, known also by its anglicised former name of Coorg—hence the common name. It is also known from the Shimoga district in the Sharavathi basin where it was described as a new species, Philautus neelanethrus, but this is now considered to be a junior synonym of Raorchestes luteolus.

<i>Rhacophorus lateralis</i> Species of amphibian

Rhacophorus lateralis is an endangered rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. It has several 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.

<i>Raorchestes ochlandrae</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes ochlandrae is a species of shrub frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. This species of the oriental shrub frog was first described from Kakkayam Reserve Forest of Calicut district, Kerala state, in the southern Western Ghats in 2007 but has since been recorded at many other sites along the Western Ghats. The specific name ochlandrae refers to microhabitat of the species, bamboo Ochlandra setigera.

<i>Raorchestes resplendens</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes resplendens, the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frogs belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi. It has extremely short limbs and numerous macroglands and was discovered from the Anamudi summit in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India and is known only from the Eravikulam National Park.

<i>Pseudophilautus</i> Genus of amphibians

Pseudophilautus is a genus of shrub frogs in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India and to Sri Lanka where the majority of the species are found. Many of them are already extinct. On the other, some species believed to be extinct have also been rediscovered.

The Jog night frog or Jog's night frog is one of 12 species of nocturnal frogs in the genus Nyctibatrachus. It is found exclusively in the Western Ghats, India, and both sexes share the responsibility of watching over the eggs.

Myristica swamp

Myristica swamps are a type of freshwater swamp forest predominantly composed of species of Myristica. These are found in three localities in India. Myristica swamps have adapted to inundation by way of stilt roots and knee roots. Myristica swamps are found in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka State and in the southern parts of Kerala State. Recently it is found in village bambarde,in Maharashtra's Sindhudurga district.

<i>Raorchestes</i> Genus of amphibians

Raorchestes is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that can be found in South and Southeast Asia, from southern India to Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos to southern China and Vietnam and West Malaysia. They are particularly diverse in the Western Ghats of India. Only four species from the genus have been reported from southeast Asia and China, of which the third was reported as a range extension from Myanmar in 2019. Before the description of the genus in 2010, species now in Raorchestes had been assigned to genera Ixalus, Philautus, and Pseudophilautus. A recent study places Raorchestes as a sister taxon of Pseudophilautus.

<i>Raorchestes akroparallagi</i> Species of amphibian

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Ghatixalus is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the sister taxon to a larger clade consisting of Chiromantis, Feihyla, Taruga, Polypedates, and Rhacophorus. The name of the genus combines words "Ghats" and "Ixalus". The former refers to the Western Ghats, and the latter to now-abandoned genus name that lives as the suffix in many generic names for rhacophorid frogs.

<i>Beddomixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Beddomixalus is a monotypic genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. The only described species, Beddomixalus bijui, is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. Its name is derived from a combination of the cognomen of Richard Henry Beddome, in honour of his work on the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats, as well as Ixalus, which is often used as a suffix for names of rhacophorid genera.

Polypedates ranwellai, also known as the Ranwella's spined tree frog, Ranwella's horned tree frog, or Ranwella's tree frog, is a species of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka and only known from its type locality, Gilimale forest near Ratnapura, the Sabaragamuwa Province.

<i>Phylloneura westermanni</i>

Phylloneura westermanni, Myristica bambootail is a damselfly species in the family Platycnemididae. It is endemic to Myristica swamps of Western Ghats in India. The habitat is restricted to a few localities in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

<i>Rhacophorus borneensis</i> Species of frog

Rhacophorus borneensis is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. This recently (2013) described species is endemic to Malaysian Borneo where it is known from its type locality in the Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Sandakan Division, Sabah as well as from the Batang Ai National Park, Sarawak. Prior to its description, it was included in Rhacophorus reinwardtii. It is said to be "one of the prettiest frogs of Borneo". Common name Borneo flying frog has been coined for it.

Gosner stage

Gosner stage refers to a generalized system describing stages of embryonal and larval development in anurans. The Gosner system includes 46 numbered stages, from fertilized embryo to the completion of metamorphosis. It was introduced by Kenneth Gosner in 1960. The system is widely used in herpetology to describe exotrophic tadpoles. Gosner stages are based on certain morphological landmarks that allow comparing development in different species that may greatly differ in age or size.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Abraham, Robin Kurian; R. Alexander Pyron; Ansil B. R.; Arun Zachariah; Anil Zachariah (2013). "Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India". Zootaxa. 3640 (2): 177–189. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3. PMID   26000411.
  2. ↑ "New frog species named after Freddie Mercury". kingsnake.com. OnlineHobbyist.com, Inc. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Two New Frog Species Discovered in India" (PDF). Reptile Channel. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Two new genera of tree frogs found in Western Ghats". The Hindu. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Aathira Perinchery (22 April 2013). "Two new frog genera discovered in India's Western Ghats, but restricted to threatened swamp-ecosystems". Mongabay.com. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Mercurana myristicapalustris". Amphibian Web. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Abraham, RK; Mathew, JK; Raju, DV; Rao, R; Zachariah, A (2018). "Reproduction and metamorphosis in the Myristica Swamp tree frog, Mercurana myristicapalustris (Anura: Rhacophoridae)". PeerJ. 6: e5934. doi:10.7717/peerj.5934. PMC   6252067 . PMID   30498632 . Retrieved 22 November 2018. CC-BY-icon-80x15.png  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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