Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei

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Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei
Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei (dorsolateral).jpg
With Indian five-rupee coin for scale
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Nyctibatrachidae
Genus: Nyctibatrachus
Species:
N. robinmoorei
Binomial name
Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei
Garg, Suyesh, Sukesan, and Biju, 2017 [1]
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Map showing N. robinmoorei's known distribution in the southern Western Ghats

Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei, also known as Robin Moore's night frog [2] or the Tirunelveli wrinkled frog, [3] is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 2017, along with six other species in its genus, by the herpetologist Sonali Garg and her colleagues. A small frog, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 12.2–13.4 mm (0.48–0.53 in). It is mainly reddish-brown, with a light grey underside, light orangish-brown bands running from the eyes to the middle of the back, light brown limbs, and darker brown hands and feet. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly brown, with light greyish-white undersides and light greyish-brown limbs.

Contents

The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is known only from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the state of Tamil Nadu, where the specimens used to describe the species were originally collected. It is found in marshy areas near streams at elevations of around 1,290 m (4,230 ft). The species has not been assigned a conservation status by the IUCN.

Taxonomy

Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei was described in 2017 by the herpetologist Sonali Garg and her colleagues based on an adult male specimen collected from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the state of Tamil Nadu. The species is named after the conservationist and wildlife photographer Robin Moore to honour his contributions to the conservation of amphibians. [1]

The species is one of 34 species in the genus Nyctibatrachus , commonly known as the night frogs, in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. [4] It is sister (most closely related) to N. manalari , and both of these species are further sister to a clade (group formed by all of a common ancestor's descendants) formed by N. anamallaiensis, N. pulivijayani, and N. sabarimalai . The clade formed by these five species is sister to N. beddomii. [1] [5] The following cladogram shows relationships among these species, according to the 2017 study that described the species. [1]

N. beddomii

N. manalari

N. robinmoorei

N. anamallaiensis

N. sabarimalai

N. pulivijayani

Description

Figure illustrating various aspects of N. robinmoorei's appearance in life and after preservation Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei (preserved).jpg
Figure illustrating various aspects of N. robinmoorei's appearance in life and after preservation

N. robinmoorei is a diminutive frog, with a snout–vent length of 12.2–13.4 mm (0.48–0.53 in) for adult males. The head is almost as wide as it is long, and the snout is rounded and longer than the diameter of the eye. Males can be distinguished from females by the presence of the nuptial pads and femoral glands (bulbous glands near the inner thigh). [1]

In adult males, the upperside is reddish-brown, with a pair of light orangish-brown bands running from behind the eyelids to the middle of the back. The snout has a triangular light orangish-brown patch, demarcated by a light orangish-brown stripe between the eyes. The sides of the head are dark greyish-brown, with scattered minute black speckles and prominent white spots, and the upper eyelids are dark greyish-brown. The underside is light grey with prominent minute black spots, and the sides of the abdomen are light brown with scattered white spots. The limbs are light brown with faint dark grey horizontal bands, with the hands and feet being slightly darker. [1]

When preserved in 70% ethanol, the upperside turns brown, while the light patch on the snout, the stripe between the eyes, and the stripe over the back becomes light brown. The underside turns light greyish-white with dark grey spots, the limbs turn light greyish-brown, and the sides of the abdomen become light greyish-brown. [1]

N. robinmoorei can be distinguished from other species in its genus by a combination of its small snout–vent length; the head being almost as wide as it is long; the absence of webbed feet; weakly developed glandular folds on the upper sides, separated by scattered granular projections; the presence of the dorso-terminal groove (groove on the upper side of the tip of the digit) on the third finger and fourth toe; the discs on third finger and fourth toe being slightly wider than the finger and toe, respectively; a single tubercle on the palm; the thigh being longer than both the lower leg and foot; and the forearm being longer than the hand. [1]

Distribution, ecology, and conservation

N. robinmoorei is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is known only from its type locality in Tirunelveli district, south of the Palakkad Gap in Tamil Nadu. All known specimens of the frog have been collected from a marshy area with thick ground vegetation near a stream inside primary forest at an elevation of 1,290 m (4,230 ft). Male are known to vocalise during the afternoon, from 12 PM to 2 PM, and late in the evening, around 6 PM. A female collected in late August had 15 small, pigmented eggs, with an average egg diameter of 1.7 mm (0.067 in). [1] The species has not yet been assessed by the IUCN. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<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. Currently, 35 species belong to Nyctibatrachus.

<i>Walkerana diplosticta</i> Species of amphibian

Walkerana diplosticta, also known as the spotted leaping frog, Malabar Indian frog, rufous leaf-hopper frog, and Günther's frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap and only known with certainty from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. Localities with confirmed records include the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

<i>Indosylvirana aurantiaca</i> Species of amphibian

Indosylvirana aurantiaca, commonly known as the golden frog, is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The species is also known as the Trivandrum frog, the common wood frog, or the small wood frog.

<i>Micrixalus elegans</i> Species of amphibian

Micrixalus elegans is a species of frog in the family Micrixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, and occurs between the Palakkad Gap and Goa Gap in the states of Kerala and Karnataka. Micrixalus elegans is one of the Micrixalus species showing "foot-flagging" behaviour, hence the common name elegant dancing frog has been proposed. Other common names include elegant torrent frog and elegant bush frog.

<i>Nyctibatrachus beddomii</i> Species of amphibian

Nyctibatrachus beddomii is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombay night frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Bombay night frog, also known as Abdulali's wrinkled frog, Abdulali's night frog or Humayun's wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of Maharashtra state, India. The species is found near torrential hill streams in tropical moist evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, a habitat that is threatened by habitat loss and pollution. Its name honours Humayun Abdulali, an Indian biologist.

<i>Nyctibatrachus major</i> Species of amphibian

Nyctibatrachus major, the Malabar night frog, large wrinkled frog, or Boulenger's narrow-eyed frog, is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 1882 by the zoologist George Albert Boulenger, and is the type species of the genus Nyctibatrachus. It is a large frog for its genus, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. It is mainly brownish to greyish in colour, with a dark greyish-brown upperside, a greyish-white underside, and light grey sides. It also has a variety of grey or brown markings. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly greyish-brown to grey, with whitish sides. Sexes can be told apart by the presence of the femoral glands in males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinular night frog</span> Species of amphibian

The spinular night frog, also known as the spinular wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 2011 as one of 12 new species in its genus by the herpetologist Sathyabhama Das Biju and his colleagues. A large frog for its genus, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 52.9–66.2 mm (2.08–2.61 in). It has a brownish-grey back, a grey underside, dark brown limbs, and dark grey feet. When preserved in ethanol, it is black above with greyish-brown undersides. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is known from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where the specimens used to describe the species were originally collected. It is found under rocks in streams in forests. The species has not been assigned a conservation status by the IUCN.

The Jog night frog or Jog's night frog is one of 34 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.

<i>Micrixalus herrei</i> Species of frog

Micrixalus herrei is a newly redescribed species of frog in the family Micrixalidae. Originally described in 1942, it was synonymized with M. fuscus in 1984. However, morphological differences as well as DNA evidence confirm this species to be valid. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, and occurs south of the Shencottah Gap in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states. The common name Kallar dancing frog has been proposed for this species, in reference to Kallar, Trivandrum, its type locality.

Micrixalus kodayari, also known as the Kodayar dancing frog, is a species of frogs in the family Micrixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of the Shencottah Gap in Tamil Nadu, India; it is known from Kodayar and Kakkachi.

<i>Micrixalus kurichiyari</i> Species of frogs

Micrixalus kurichiyari is a species of frogs in the family Micrixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, and only known from its type locality, Kurichiyarmala in the Wayanad District, Kerala state. Common name Kurichiyar dancing frog has been coined for it, in reference to the type locality.

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

Raorchestes coonoorensis, also known as the Coonore bushfrog or Coonoor bush frog, is a species of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats, India. It is reported from its type locality, Sim's Park in Coonoor, with an additional observation from Kothagiri; both locations are in the state of Tamil Nadu. Its altitudinal range is 1,780–1,850 m (5,840–6,070 ft) asl.

<i>Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani</i> Species of frog

Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani, or Vijayan's night frog, is a species of night frogs, family Nyctibatrachidae. The frog is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, and is only known from its type locality, Pandipath, in the Agasthyamalai Hills, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. Smaller than a human fingernail, it is among the smallest frog species in the world. Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani is part of a genus that evolved in India around 70–80 million years ago. The species of frog was discovered by scientists from the University of Delhi.

<i>Indosylvirana indica</i> Species of frog

Indosylvirana indica, the Indian golden-backed frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It was formerly considered as conspecific with Indosylvirana temporalis but was found to be a distinct species in a 2014 study.

<i>Nyctibatrachus manalari</i> Species of frog

Nyctibatrachus manalari, the Manalar night frog, is a species of frog in the robust frog family Nyctibatrachidae. It was described in 2017, along with six other species in its genus, by the herpetologist Sonali Garg and her colleagues. A small frog, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 13.1–15.4 mm (0.52–0.61 in). It is mainly reddish-brown in color, with a pale patch on the snout, lighter undersides, and dark brown horizontal lines on the limbs. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly grey to greyish-brown, with grayish-white undersides.

<i>Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi</i> Species of frog

Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi, also known as Mewa Singh's night frog or the Peruvannamuzhi wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the night frog family Nyctibatrachidae. It was described in 2017 by the herpetologist Keerthi Krutha and her colleagues. A small frog, it has an adult snout–vent length of 21.4–23 mm (0.84–0.91 in). It is mainly light greyish-brown above and off-white below, with a triangular light brown patch on the snout, light brown limbs with off-white undersides, and dark grey fingers and toes. It has scattered greyish-brown spots on the throat and the underside of the limbs. When preserved in ethanol, it has a more faded colour.

<i>Nyctibatrachus radcliffei</i> Species of frog

Nyctibatrachus radcliffei, also known as Radcliffe's night frog or the Thiashola wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the night frog family Nyctibatrachidae. It was described in 2017, along with six other species in its genus, by the herpetologist Sonali Garg and her colleagues. A medium-sized frog for its genus, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 32.8–38.3 mm (1.29–1.51 in). It is mainly reddish-brown, with a light flesh-red coloured underside, light brown limbs, and dark grey hands and feet. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly dark grey, with grayish-white undersides.

<i>Microhyla darreli</i> Species of frog

Microhyla darreli is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae, the narrow-mouthed frogs. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in southern India. It is named for Darrel Frost, an American herpetologist, in recognition of the online database Amphibian Species of the World that he maintains. Accordingly, common name Darrel's chorus frog has been coined for this species.

<i>Nyctibatrachus sabarimalai</i> Species of frog

Nyctibatrachus sabarimalai, also known as the Sabarimala night frog or Sabarimala wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the robust frog family Nyctibatrachidae. It was described in 2017, along with six other species in its genus, by the herpetologist Sonali Garg and her colleagues. A small frog, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 12.3–13.2 mm (0.48–0.52 in). It is mainly brown, with a dark brown back, a greyish-white underside, light brown bands running from the eyes to the middle of the back, light brown limbs, and light grey hands and feet. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly grey, with greyish-white undersides and light grey limbs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Garg, Sonali; Suyesh, Robin; Sukesan, Sandeep; Biju, S.D. (21 February 2017). "Seven new species of Night Frogs (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot of India, with remarkably high diversity of diminutive forms". PeerJ. 5: e3007. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3007 . PMC   5322763 . PMID   28243532. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2023). "Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001.
  3. Dinesh, K. P.; Radhakrishnan, C.; Deepak, P.; Kulkarni, N. U. (2023). A Checklist of Indian Amphibians with common names for the country and their IUCN Conservation Status (Report) (5th ed.). Zoological Survey of India. p. 9.
  4. Frost, Darrel R. (2023). "Nyctibatrachus". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001.
  5. Kumar, K.S. Pavan; Vishwajith, H.U.; Anisha, Anand; Dayananda, G.Y.; Gururaja, Kotambylu Vasudeva; Priti, Hebbar (15 November 2022). "A new cryptic species of Nyctibatrachus (Amphibia, Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) with description of its tadpole from the central Western Ghats, India". Zootaxa. 5209 (1): 69–92. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5209.1.4. PMID   37045404. S2CID   253537588.
  6. Dinesh, K. P.; Radhakrishnan, C.; Channakeshavamurthy, B. H.; Deepak, P.; Kulkarni, N. U. (2020). A Checklist of Amphibians of India with IUCN Conservation Statuses (Report) (3rd ed.). Zoological Survey of India. p. 8.
  7. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" . Retrieved 2 November 2023.