Rhacophorus lateralis

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Rhacophorus lateralis
Rhacophorus lateralis Coorg.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Rhacophorus
Species:
R. lateralis
Binomial name
Rhacophorus lateralis
Boulenger, 1883

Rhacophorus lateralis is a rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. [2] It has several common names: small tree frog, Boulenger's tree frog, small gliding frog, and winged gliding frog. [1] [2] 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. [3] [4] [5] Along with R. malabaricus , it is one of the few anuran amphibians in India that constructs its nest above the ground using leaves. [6]

Contents

Description

Nest of Rhacophorus lateralis in a leaf--along with R. malabaricus, this is one of the few amphibians from India that lays its eggs in multiple leaves above the ground. Rhacophorus lateralis nest.jpg
Nest of Rhacophorus lateralis in a leaf—along with R. malabaricus, this is one of the few amphibians from India that lays its eggs in multiple leaves above the ground.

The frog was described by George Albert Boulenger in 1883 based on a single specimen from "Malabar" (present-day Kerala) collected by Richard Henry Beddome [7] with a second specimen in the Indian Museum from Koppa in Chikmagalur collected by W. M. Daly, then resident in Kadur. [8] Several later surveys did not report the species until its rediscovery in 2000 in the course of an expedition to the Western Ghats by a team from University of Aberdeen. The rediscovery was based on two adult females and an unsexed metamorph specimen collected from Lakunda estate in Virajpet taluka in South Kodagu. [3] The frog is slender with a short head and snout and a distinct canthus rostralis. The nostrils are nearer to the tip of the snout than to the eye. The eyes are large with the tympanum half the diameter of the eye and a distinct supratympanic fold. The fingers and toes have an enlarged disc possessing circummarginal grooves. The upper portion (dorsum) is smooth, the belly is granular and a characteristic dorsolateral yellow streak on either side of the upper body from the nostril to the groin is distinctive. [4] Colour variations even within the same individual have been reported [4] and have been attributed to stress. [9] Repeated handling reduces colour change. [5]

Green and brown colour variations have been described. Individuals with green upperparts have the green colour interspersed with fine, sky-blue spots. The individuals with brown dorsa have darker brown spots; no demarcating blue line borders the yellow stripe from the eye to the groin. [4]

Phylogenetic studies show it to be closely related to Rhacophorus malabaricus. [10]

Individuals can change colour between brown and green Rhacophorus lateralis morphs.jpg
Individuals can change colour between brown and green

Habitat

The species has been reported from sholas in Eravikulam National Park and Kudremukh National Park, plantations in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala [4] [11] and adjoining subtropical evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats. It is endemic to this region. It has often been reported in association with Rhacophorus malabaricus . [4] [11]

Threats

Habitat loss due to changing agricultural practices, use of pesticides, and logging of its natural forest habitat are major threats to this species. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhacophoridae</span> Family of amphibians

The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs". Among the most spectacular members of this family are numerous "flying frogs".

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

The fungoid frog or Malabar Hills frog is a colourful frog found on the forest floor and lower vegetation in the Western Ghats in south-western India from Bombay to Kerala. It is very similar to another species with which it overlaps partly in range, Hydrophylax bahuvistara which extends further into parts of central India. Although restricted in range within peninsular India, they are of least conservation concern. Their upper parts vary in colour from brownish-red to bright crimson.

<i>Rhacophorus</i> Genus of amphibians

Rhacophorus is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae) and the related Hylidae make up the true tree frogs. They are found in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are currently recognised.

<i>Polypedates</i> Genus of amphibians

Polypedates is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, the shrub frogs and Paleotropic tree frogs. They belong to subfamily Rhacophorinae. Members of this genus are collectively known as whipping frogs. They occur in eastern and southern Asia.

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

The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in 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>Raorchestes travancoricus</i> Species of frog

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.

<i>Pseudophilautus wynaadensis</i> Species of amphibian

Pseudophilautus wynaadensis, commonly known as the Wayanad bush frog, common bush frog, jerdon's bush frog,plain-colored bush frog, Malabar coast frog, or dark-eared bush frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats kerala,karnataka and tamilnadu.

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

Rhacophorus bipunctatus is a frog species in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae) found from eastern India into Southeast Asia, possibly to southeastern China and south to Malaysia. Due to the identification problems surrounding this species, the eastern and southern limits of its range remain undetermined; all that is known is that the species certainly occurs in the border region of India, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar; its range might extend south to Malaysia, as similar frogs have been reported from Pahang.

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

Rhacophorus calcadensis, also known as the Kalakad gliding frog, Kalakkad tree frog, and 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 poecilonotus, also known as the Sumatra flying frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia.

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

Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus, also known as Anaimalai flying frog, false Malabar gliding frog, and false Malabar tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Anaimalai Hills, a part of the southern the Western Ghats in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, India.

<i>Vampyrius</i> Species of amphibian

Rhacophorusvampyrus(Vampyrius Vampyrus) is a medium-sized species of flying frogs endemic to Vietnam. It is found in Southern Vietnam, and is not know to be found in other places globally. It Is in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, and class Amphibia. Along with this, it is in the order Anura, family Rhacophoridae, and it is the only member of the genus Vampyrus. It is also known as the vampire tree frog or the vampire flying frog because of the presence of a pair of fang-like hooks in mouth of the tadpoles. Its Vietnamese name is Ếch cây ma cà rồng.

The Malabar frog is a frog in the family Ranidae found in the Western Ghats of India.

<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.

<i>Ichthyophis kodaguensis</i> Species of amphibian

Ichthyophis kodaguensis, also known as the Kodagu striped Ichthyophis, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. All confirmed records are from southern Karnataka state, although it is also reported from adjacent Kerala.

<i>Walkerana</i> Genus of frogs

Walkerana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranixalidae. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It was erected in 2016 to host three species of Indirana that represented a genetically and morphologically distinct clade within the then broadly defined Indirana. Until Walkerana muduga was described in 2020, the genus was only known from the southernmost part of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap.

<i>Zhangixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Zhangixalus is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae, family Rhacophoridae. They are collectively known as Zhang's treefrogs. They occur in the Eastern Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Japan, and southeast Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Rhacophorus lateralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T59000A166109633. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Rhacophorus lateralis Boulenger, 1883". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Das, Indraneil (2000). "Nomenclatural history and rediscovery of Rhacophorus lateralis Boulenger, 1883 (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae)". Current Herpetology. 19 (1): 35–40. doi: 10.5358/hsj.19.35 .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dinesh, KP; Radhakrishnana, C.; Gururaja, K.V.; Zachariah, A. (26 June 2010). "New locality records of Rhacophorus lateralis Boulenger, 1883 (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae), in the Western Ghats". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 2 (6): 986–989. doi: 10.11609/jott.o2209.986-9 .
  5. 1 2 Bennet, Daniel; K. Hampson; K. Sanders; M. Anderson (2000). Frogs of Coorg, Karnataka, India (PDF). Final Report of the Aberdeen University Western Ghats Project.
  6. ↑ Biju, S.D. (10 August 2009). "A novel nesting behaviour of a treefrog, Rhacophorus lateralis in the Western Ghats, India" (PDF). Current Science. 97 (3): 433–437.
  7. ↑ Boulenger, G.A. (1883). "Descriptions of new species of reptiles and batrachians in the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 5. 12 (69): 161–167. doi:10.1080/00222938309459605.
  8. ↑ Sclater, W.L. (1892). List of the Batrachia in the Indian Museum. London: Indian Museum. p. 16.
  9. ↑ Molur, Sanjay; P Molur. "Rhacophorus lateralis in Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka" (PDF). Frogleg, Newsletter of the Amphibian Network of South Asia and Amphibian Specialist Group South Asia. 14: 6–7.
  10. ↑ Li, J.T.; Li, Y.; Murphy, R.W.; Rao, D.-Q.; Zhang, Y.-P. (2012). "Phylogenetic resolution and systematics of the Asian tree frogs, Rhacophorus (Rhacophoridae, Amphibia)" (PDF). Zoologica Scripta. 41 (6): 557–570. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00557.x. S2CID   86369809.
  11. 1 2 Goel, Anurag; Maya Goel. "Observations on Rhacophorus lateralis and R. malabaricus in northern Coorg" (PDF). Frogleg, Newsletter of the Amphibian Network of South Asia and Amphibian Specialist Group South Asia. 14: 8–10.
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