Description
provided by AmphibiaWeb articles
Diagnosis and description: Rhacophorus lateralis has an SVL of 31 mm. The skin is smooth and granular on the venter and the undersurfaces of the thighs. It has a rounded snout and an interorbital space broader than the upper eyelid. The tympanum is smaller than the eye. Its three outer fingers are almost entirely webbed, while all of the toes are almost entirely webbed. The discs of the fingers and toes are smaller than the tympanum. There is a rather indistinct, inner metatarsal tubercle (Boulenger 1883). Coloration: The background color of R. lateralis is green or reddish purple. Ventrally, the species is white or pinkish white. The head and back have dark dots, and colored parts of the limbs have dark cross lines. There is a white streak on each side from the nostril along the outer edge of the upper eyelid to the groin. The arm, three inner fingers, and four inner toes are clear (Boulenger 1883; Molur and Molur 2010).
- Biju, S. D. (2009). ''A novel nesting behavior of a treefrog, Rhacophorus lateralis, in the Western Ghats, India.'' , 97, 433-437.
- Boulenger, G. A. (1883). ''Descriptions of new species of reptiles and batrachians in the British Museum.'' The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 5, 12, 161-167.
- Molur, S., and Molur, P. (2010). ''Rhacophorus lateralis in Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka.'' http://www.zoosprint.org/ZoosPrintNewsLetter/frog_leg_14_2010may.pdf
Distribution and Habitat
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R. lateralis is only found in two areas of the southern Western Ghats of India: Kerala and Karnataka at an elevation of about 800 m above sea level. The species lives in tropical rain forests and deciduous forests. It is usually found in the lower cover and understory level of the forest (Biju et al. 2004).
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
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R. lateralis is an arboreal frog. Its breeding season is from June to September. The species displays axillary amplexus (Biju 2009). It is oviparous. It breeds on vegetation overhanging small pools where the tadpoles eventually develop (Biju et al. 2004). When handled, R. lateralis changes color to bright brown with coffee colored dots in only 5 seconds (Molur and Molur 2010).
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
provided by AmphibiaWeb articles
Rhacophorus lateralis is very rare in the wild. The population of Rhacophorus lateralis is declining largely because of habitat loss due to deforestation and agriculture (Biju et al. 2004).
Nesting behaviour of Rhacophorus lateralis in the Western Ghats, India
provided by EOL authors
Derived from the work published by S. D. Biju. Nest building by leaf folding is a rare behaviour in anuran amphibians, with previous reports for only two genera, the Subsaharan African Afrixalus, and Central and South American Phyllomedusa. This behaviour of an Indian treefrog Rhacophorus lateralis, was observed in natural habitat at Kalpetta in Wayanad District, Kerala. This behaviour of leaf folding is the first report in the family Rhacophoridae, and in the Asiatic amphibians. Nesting behaviour of R. lateralis is unique among Rhacophorus – a purse-like nest is made over water by folding a single leaf around the egg mass (embryos and translucent foam) by the female alone after oviposition. The function of this parental investment is to prevent desiccation of eggs in open sunlight.
Rhacophorus lateralis
provided by wikipedia EN
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]
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.
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
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]
References
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^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Rhacophorus lateralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T59000A166109633. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
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^ a b 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.
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^ a b 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.
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^ a b c d e f g 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.
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^ a b Bennet, Daniel; K. Hampson; K. Sanders; M. Anderson (2000). Frogs of Coorg, Karnataka, India (PDF). Final Report of the Aberdeen University Western Ghats Project.
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^ 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.
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^ 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.
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^ Sclater, W.L. (1892). List of the Batrachia in the Indian Museum. London: Indian Museum. p. 16.
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^ 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.
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^ 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.
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^ a b 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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Rhacophorus lateralis: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Rhacophorus lateralis is a rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. It has several common names: small tree frog, Boulenger's tree frog, small gliding frog, and winged gliding frog. 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. Along with R. malabaricus, it is one of the few anuran amphibians in India that constructs its nest above the ground using leaves.
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