Micrixalus fuscus

Micrixalus fuscus
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Micrixalidae
Genus:	Micrixalus
Species:	M. fuscus
Binomial name
Micrixalus fuscus (Boulenger, 1882)
Synonyms
Ixalus fuscusBoulenger, 1882

Micrixalus fuscus (dusky torrent frog or brown tropical frog) is a species of small frog found in dense forested hill streams in the Western Ghats of India. ^{[2] [3]} M. herrei was formerly synonymized ^[4] within this species. ^[3]

Description

Males measure 27.9–28.8 mm (1.10–1.13 in) and females 30.0–33.1 mm (1.18–1.30 in) in snout–vent length. ^[3] Male Micrixalus fuscus have a single vocal sac, a white patch on the lower jaw, and a prominent nuptial pad on the first finger. Characteristic for the genus, they display the "foot-flagging" behavior, where males tap their hindfeet and extend it, then stretching it out and shaking the foot at prospective mates and rival males. Male-male combats also involve kicking. ^[3]

Description from G. A. Boulenger's (1890) "Fauna of British India": ^[5]

Snout pointed, prominent, generally longer than the orbital diameter; canthus rostralis angular: loreal region flat, vertical; nostril halfway between the eye and the tip of the snout; interorbital space as broad as the upper eyelid; tympanum small, indistinct. Toes nearly entirely webbed; disks moderate; subarticular tubercles small; a small inner metatarsal tubercle. The tibio-tarsal articulation reaches between the eye and the tip of the snout. Skin smooth above and beneath; a narrow glandular lateral fold; a fold from the eye to the shoulder. Brown or pinkish above; sides of head and body generally darker; limbs with dark cross bands; hinder side of thighs dark brown, with a more or less accentuated light median stripe; whitish beneath, marbled with brown. Male with two internal vocal sacs, the openings of which are very small. From snout to vent 1.2 inches.

Habitat

The natural habitats of this species are fast-flowing streams covered by forest canopy. It is relatively abundant where it has been found. ^[3]

Diet

This species were found preying predominantly on Hymenoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera species since they are diurnal. ^[6]

References

1. S.D. Biju, Sushil Dutta, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, S.P. Vijayakumar, M.S. Ravichandran (2004). "Micrixalus fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004: e.T58378A11762825. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58378A11762825.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Micrixalus fuscus (Boulenger, 1882)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
3. Biju, S. D.; Sonali Garg; K. V. Gururaja; Yogesh Shouche; Sandeep A. Walujkar (2014). "DNA barcoding reveals unprecedented diversity in Dancing Frogs of India (Micrixalidae, Micrixalus): a taxonomic revision with description of 14 new species". Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences). 43 (1): 37–123. doi: 10.4038/cjsbs.v43i1.6850 . (M. fuscus: p. 67)
4. Inger, R. F.; H. B. Shaffer; M. Koshy; R. Bakde (1984). "A report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from the Ponmudi, Kerala, South India". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 81: 406–427.
5. Boulenger, G. A. (1890). Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Taylor and Francis. p. 570.
6. Seshadri, Kadaba Shamanna; and Saryan, Preeti (3 April 2025). "Trophic interactions of two aquatic anurans from the mid-elevation evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India". Journal of Natural History. 59 (13–16): 997–1015. doi:10.1080/00222933.2025.2476122. ISSN   0022-2933.