Raorchestes travancoricus

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Raorchestes travancoricus
MG 0441 SaurabhSawant Raorchestes-travancoricus Munnar.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Raorchestes
Species:
R. travancoricus
Binomial name
Raorchestes travancoricus
(Boulenger, 1891)
Synonyms

Ixalus travancoricusBoulenger, 1891
Philautus travancoricus(Boulenger, 1891)
Pseudophilautus travancoricus(Boulenger, 1891)

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 (now in Tamil Nadu). [2]

Rediscovery

In early 2009, University of Delhi researchers announced that the species had been rediscovered in the Western Ghats. [3] The rediscovery was a result of intense surveying in the Western Ghats. Before the discovery of a single male from Vandiperiyar in 2004, the species had not been recorded after its description in 1891 by George Albert Boulenger. More recently, two males have been found from Vagamon. The species remains very rare, and the known populations, both in Kerala, occur in disturbed habitat (tea plantations) outside protected areas. [4]

Description

R. travancoricus is a small frog, males measuring 22–25 mm (0.87–0.98 in) in snout-vent length and the single measured female 30 mm (1.2 in). Its back is light-greyish red to brown with prominent brown broad lines alternating with thin faint lines. It has a yellowish brown iris. R. travancoricus is a close relative of R. luteolus with which it could be confused. [4]

Habitat

This frog has been observed perched on shrubs near or between plantations, such as tea plantations and in some tropical evergreen forests and vayal habitats. Sometimes this frog sits on leaf litter. This frog has been observed between 350 and 1802 meters above sea level. [1]

Threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as endangered because of its small range, which is heavily fragmented and subject to ongoing degradation. Many people also take a pilgrimage to the Western Ghats. The pilgrims, the garbage they leave behind, and the burnings performed to create space for them can all disturb this frog. Scientists cite climate change as another threat: Because this species lives high in the hills, it cannot readily migrate to colder habitats. This frog's range includes a protected park, where an estimated half the population is believed to live: Periyar Tiger Reserve. [5] [1]

Scientists believe the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis can infect this frog. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis causes the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

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.

<i>Raorchestes chalazodes</i> Species of frog from India

Raorchestes chalazodes is a species of critically endangered frog in the family Rhacophoridae. Raorchestes chalazodes is a nocturnal and arboreal species found in the understorey of tropical moist evergreen forest and is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The specific name chalazodes is composed of the Greek word χάλαζα (chalaza) meaning "lump" and -odes for the derived adjective, reflecting white granulation of the body. It has been observed between 1200 and 1600 meters above sea level.

<i>Raorchestes griet</i> Species of 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. The common name Griet bush frog has been coined for it.

<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>Raorchestes nerostagona</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes nerostagona is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. It has been called as the Kalpetta yellow bush frog or lichen bush frog for its patchy lichen like patterning that make it cryptic. First described in 2005 based on a specimen obtained in Kalpetta, the species has subsequently been found in many parts of the Western Ghats. This frog has been observed between 900 and 1200 meters above sea level.

<i>Raorchestes signatus</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes signatus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India.

<i>Raorchestes munnarensis</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes munnarensis is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Munnar, Kerala, along the Ghat road to Devikulam in the southern Western Ghats, India.

<i>Raorchestes tinniens</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes tinniens, also known as the spotted bush frog, black bush frog, tinkling Nilgiri bush frog, tinkling Nilgiri bush frog, and Rao's bubble-nest frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills, a part of the Western Ghats, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, southern India. It has a rather complicated taxonomic history, and there is still an open issue whether Ixalus montanusGünther, 1876 from Kudremukh (Karnataka), now in synonymy with Raorchestes tinniens, is indeed a valid species.

<i>Raorchestes</i> Genus of amphibians

Raorchestes is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that are found in mountainous regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and southern China. A recent study places Raorchestes as a sister taxon of Pseudophilautus. Before the description of the genus in 2010, species now in Raorchestes had been assigned to genera Ixalus, Philautus, and Pseudophilautus.

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

Raorchestes kakachi is a species of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India. The specific name kakachi refers to the type locality from where the species was described.

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

Raorchestes kaikatti, sometimes known as the Kaikatti bushfrog or Kaikatt's bush frog, is an endangered frogs found in the Nelliampathi Hills within the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The species is named after Kaikatti, its type locality.

<i>Raorchestes chotta</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes chotta, also known as the small bushfrog or small bush frog, is a species of frog found only in Ponmudi in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. This frog lays eggs attached to the underside of a leaf. They hatch as tiny froglets, skipping the tadpole stage. The frog has been observed between 600 and 980 meters above sea level.

<i>Raorchestes jayarami</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes jayarami, also known as Jayaram's bush frog, is a species of frog from the subfamily rhacophoridae found in Valparai in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu in India, where it has been observed between 600 and 1800 meters above sea level.

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

Raorchestes johnceei is a species of frog of the genus Raorchestes found in Bonacaud in the Western Ghats of Kerala in India. It has been observed between 900 and 1300 meters above sea level.

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

Raorchestes kadalarensis is a species of frog of the genus Raorchestes found in Kadalar near Munnar in the Western Ghats of Kerala in India. This frog has been observed between 1300 and 1700 meters above sea level.

Raorchestes theuerkaufi is a species of frog of the genus Raorchestes found in the tea estates of Kadalar near Munnar, Idukki district, in the Western Ghats of Kerala in India. The species is named after Wolfgang Theuerkauf, a botanist and director of the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala.

<i>Raorchestes hassanensis</i> Species of frog

Raorchestes hassanensis, the Hassan bush frog or Dutta's bubble-nest frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to India, including the Western Ghats.

Raorchestes primarrumpfi is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to India and has been observed high in the Nilgiri Massif mountains.

Roarchestes leucolatus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to India. Scientists have observed it in the Western Ghat mountains, between 894 and 958 meters above sea level.

<i>Raorchestes indigo</i> Species of frog

Roarchestes indigo is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to India. It has been observed high in the mountains in scrub tree habitats. This frog has been observed between 1400 and 1700 meters above sea level.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2023). "Travancore Bush Frog: Raorchestes travancoricus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 3.1. p. e.T58927A166108743. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T58927A166108743.en. 58927. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Raorchestes travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891)". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. ↑ University of Delhi (3 February 2009). "Dozen New Tree Frogs Discovered In Rapidly Vanishing Habitat In India". ScienceDaily .
  4. 1 2 Biju, S. D.; Bossuyt, F. (2009). "Systematics and phylogeny of Philautus Gistel, 1848 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) in the Western Ghats of India, with descriptions of 12 new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 155 (2): 374–444. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00466.x .
  5. ↑ Krystal Gong; Michelle S. Koo (13 April 2009). Kellie Whittaker (ed.). "Raorchestes travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891)". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 5 August 2023.

Further reading

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