Seychelles palm frog

Last updated

Seychelles palm frog
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Sooglossidae
Genus: Sechellophryne
Species:
S. pipilodryas
Binomial name
Sechellophryne pipilodryas
(Gerlach and Willi, 2002)
Synonyms

Sooglossus pipilodryasGerlach and Willi, 2002 [2]
Leptosooglossus pipilodryas(Gerlach and Willi, 2002)

The Seychelles palm frog (Sechellophryne pipilodryas) is a species of frog that is endemic to Silhouette Island in the Seychelles. [3] It is closely related to Gardiner's frog, Sechellophryne gardineri.

The Seychelles palm frog inhabits forests higher than 150 m (490 ft) above sea level and is closely associated with the palm Phoenicophorium borsigianum (another Seychelles endemic); most individuals are found in axils of the palm. [1] It is the most arboreal of the Sooglossidae. As a result, the palm frog is the most recent species of the family to have been discovered (in 2000). [4]

The reproductive biology of this species is unknown, but it is presumed to involve direct development, i.e. eggs that hatch directly into froglets. [1] [4]

IUCN has reassessed the species in 2012 and concluded that Seychelles palm frog should be considered as "Critically Endangered" because of its small area of occupancy (about 7 km2), decline in population size, and threats to its habitat. Its earlier (2004) classification was only "Vulnerable". [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Nasikabatrachus</i> Genus of amphibians

Nasikabatrachus is a genus of frogs. It is presently treated as the only genus in the family Nasikabatrachidae, though previously it was included in the family Sooglossidae. Two species are recognized, Nasikabatrachus bhupathi and Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, both endemic to southwestern India. Both Nasikabatrachidae and Sooglossidae are thought to be the only extant families of the superfamily Sooglossoidea.

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

Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera Sechellophryne, Nesomantis and Sooglossus, but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006, the genus Nesomantis was named a junior synonym of Sooglossus. Their closest relatives are the purple frogs (Nasikabatrachidae) of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardiner's Seychelles frog</span> Species of amphibian

Gardiner's Seychelles frog is a small frog of the family Sooglossidae and endemic to the Seychelles. It is named after John Stanley Gardiner, English zoologist and oceanographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphibians of Australia</span>

Amphibians of Australia are limited to members of the order Anura, commonly known as frogs. All Australian frogs are in the suborder Neobatrachia, also known as the modern frogs, which make up the largest proportion of extant frog species. About 230 of the 5,280 species of frog are native to Australia with 93% of them endemic. Compared with other continents, species diversity is low, and may be related to the climate of most of the Australian continent. There are two known invasive amphibians, the cane toad and the smooth newt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesey-Fitzgerald's burrowing skink</span> Species of lizard

Vesey-Fitzgerald's burrowing skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Seychelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardiner's burrowing skink</span> Species of reptile

Gardiner's burrowing skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. P. gardineri is the only species in the (monotypic) skink genus Pamelaescincus.

<i>Phoenicophorium</i> Genus of palms

Phoenicophorium, the thief palm, is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. The sole species is Phoenicophorium borsigianum.

Grandisonia larvata is a species of caecilian in the family Indotyphlidae, endemic to the Seychelles islands of Mahé, Praslin, La Digue, and Silhouette.

Grandisonia sechellensis is a species of caecilian in the family Indotyphlidae. It is endemic to the Seychelles islands of Mahé, Praslin, and Silhouette.

The Frigate Island caecilian is a species of amphibians in the family Indotyphlidae, endemic to Seychelles, where it is the most widespread caecilian species. It is found on all the islands with amphibians, namely Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette, Ste. Anne, Curieuse, La Digue, Cerf, and Frégate.

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

The palm forest tree frog is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae which is endemic to Príncipe island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Red tree frog Leptopelis rufus from the African mainland was for a long time included in this species, but is now considered a distinct species.

The Seychelle Islands treefrog or Seychelles treefrog is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to Seychelles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, plantations, rural gardens, heavily degraded former forest, and irrigated land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomasset's Seychelles frog</span> Species of amphibian

Thomasset's Seychelles frog or Thomasset's frog is a species of frog in the family Sooglossidae. It is endemic to Seychelles. There are two known populations: one on Silhouette Island and one on Mahé Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chile Darwin's frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Chile Darwin's frog, also called the northern Darwin's frog, is one of only two members of the family Rhinodermatidae. It is endemic to central Chile, although it might well be extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldabra flying fox</span> Species of bat

The Aldabra flying fox is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus. It is endemic to the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, like Chaerephon pusilla, though the latter may be the same species as the little free-tailed bat.

Eucarlia is a genus of spirobolidan millipedes containing six species; most of which are endemic to the island nation of Seychelles, and one native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Four of the Seychelles species have been assessed by the IUCN Red List as either endangered, critically endangered, or extinct.

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

The Seychelles frog is a species of frog endemic to Mahé, Silhouette and Praslin islands in the Seychelles. It inhabits the floor of damp rainforest at altitudes from 150 m (490 ft) to 991 m (3,251 ft) above sea level. Higher altitude sites are considered to be more climatically stable and more suitable. The species is present in Morne Seychellois National Park, Silhouette National Park and Praslin National Park.

<i>Sechellophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Sechellophryne is a small genus of sooglossid frogs with only two members living in the Seychelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooglossoidea</span>

Sooglossoidea is a superfamily of frogs. It contains only two highly divergent families consisting of three genera with two species each, one family being found in southwestern India and the other in the Seychelles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Sechellophryne pipilodryas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T59048A15435789. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T59048A15435789.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Gerlach, J.; Willi, J. (2002). "A new species of Sooglossus frog (Sooglossidae)". Amphibia-Reptilia. 23 (4): 445–498. doi:10.1163/15685380260462356.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Sechellophryne pipilodryas (Gerlach and Willi, 2003)". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 Stuart, Simon N.; Michael Hoffmann; Janice S. Chanson; Neil A. Cox; Richard J. Berridge; Pavithra Ramani; Bruce E. Young, eds. (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. Lynx Edicions, IUCN, Conservation International.