Uperodon montanus
| Jerdon's Narrow mouthed Frog | |
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| Jerdon's Narrow mouthed Frog | |
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| Species: | R. montana
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| Binomial name | |
| Ramanella montana (Jerdon, 1859)
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Jerdon's Narrow-mouthed Frog (Ramanella montana) is a species of Microhylid frog found in the Western Ghats of India.
Description
The frogs of the genus Ramanella are small and characteristically have discs on their fingers but lack them on the toes. The toes have some webbing.[1] The typical habitat in which this frog is found are tree holes in the rainy season in moist deciduous forest to Evergreen forest. They have smooth but bumpy skin. The upper side is brown with dark spots. The snout to vent length is 34-36mm. Males have a single subgular vocal sac that is expanded to a sphere when they call. They call after heavy rains during June or July. They begin calling after sunset and continue all night while the males float on water in small ponds. Females approach calling males and they display axillary amplexus during mating.[2] They aestivate in summer.[3]
Distribution
The distribution of this frog is not fully known but is found in most of the Western Ghats from the Dangs to southern Kerala.[1] This species is found in Moist deciduous forest, Semi-evergreen forest and Evergreen forest. Rain-water filled tree holes are the favoured microhabitat of these frogs.
The egg masses of most Indian microhylids float on the water but those of R. montana are attached to the tree trunk just above water level or placed on the surface of a floating leaf.[4]
The calls sounds like brong ... brong... brong and the calling is prolonged but stops when disturbed. The amplexus of the pair is in water with the male holding the female behind at her armpit (axillary amplexus).[5]
References
- ^ a b Daniel, J C Field Guide to the Amphibians of Western India. Part 2. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 60(3):25-37
- ^ G. G. Kadadevaru, R. D. Kanamadi and Hans Schneider (1998) Mating call of the burrowing frog, Ramanella montana (Jerdon, 1859). J. Adv. Zool. 1998: 19(2) : 91-93 PDF Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ McCann, C. 1946. Aestivation of the frog Ramanella montana (Jerdon). J. Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. :404-406.
- ^ Savitha N. Krishna, Sharath B. Krishna and K. K. Vijayalaxmi (2004) Breeding ecology of a rare microhylid, Ramanella montana, in the forests of Western Ghats, India. Current Science 87(1):80-82 PDF
- ^ Sekar, A. G. A note on the breeding habits of Jerdon's Ramanella, Ramanella montana (Jerdon, 1854). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 84(1):231-232