Additional record of Resplendent Bush Frog Raorchestes resplendens (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats, India

 

Jobin Joseph 1, K.M. Jobin 2 & P.O. Nameer3

 

1,2,3 Centre for Wildlife Studies, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur. 680 656. Kerala. India.

Email: 1 jjnjoseph10@gmail.com,2 jobinmathew00@gmail.com, 3 nameerpo@gmail.com (corresponding author)

 

 

 

Date of publication (online): 26 September 2012

Date of publication (print): 26 September 2012

ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

 

Editor: Sanjay Molur

 

Manuscript details:

Ms # o3214

Received 21 May 2012

Finally accepted 11 September 2012

 

Citation: Joseph, J., K.M. Jobin & P.O. Nameer (2012). Additional record of Resplendent Bush Frog Raorchestes resplendens (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(11): 3082–3084.

 

Copyright: © Jobin Joseph, K.M. Jobin & P.O. Nameer 2012. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Acknowledgements: We thank the Warden and the Assistant Wildlife Warden, EravikulamNational Park for permission to enter the core zone of the EravikulamNational Park. We thank M. Pradeepkumar, for providing the map of Eravikulam National Park. Our thanks are due to Sachin K Aravindfor his support. We are grateful to the Associate Dean, College of Forestry for the encouragement and support.

 

 

For images  -- click here                         

 

Raorchestes resplendens Biju, Souche, Dubois, Dutta & Bossuyt, is an endemic and Critically Endangered (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2011) species of rhacophoridthat was described in the year 2010 from Anamudisummit of Eravikulam National Park, in the Western Ghats (Biju et al. 2010).  As of today, the species is known only from the type locality, the Anamudi summit, which is the highest point in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 2695m.  According to Bijuet al. (2010) R. resplendens is highly restricted in its distribution, less than 3km2 around the summit of Anamudi.

On 3 May 2012, during the course of the Nilgiri Tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius survey at EravikulamNational Park, we spotted and photographed one R. resplendensfrom the Poovar region of EravikulamNational Park.  Poovaris about 20km (on ground) north east of Anamudisummit (Images 1 & 2).  The GPS location of the present sighting is 10017’07.04”N and 77006’10.8”E, at an altitude of 2522m.  The macro habitat of the Poovar is grassland-shola forests, while the R. resplendens was sighted in the grassland (Image 3) and was seen within the grass clump. The nearby shola patch from the current sighting is at least 1km away.

Raorchestes resplendens is a brightly colouredfrog (Images 4 & 5), with reddish-orange upper side, including the dorsal parts of limbs, fingers and toes. The groin and inner side of the thighs are black, ventral side pale yellow, with irregular oval top hexagonal granulation, and bright red iris.

Biju et al. (2010) did not sight any individual of R. resplendens outside the type locality.  Thus, the present sighting of R. resplensens from Poovar region within EravikulamNational Park, ~20km north-east off the type locality, could be the first site record of the R. resplensensoutside the type locality.  It is likely that R. resplensens may be more widespread in the high altitude primary grasslands of EravikulamNational Park and surrounding areas of the Western Ghats, than it was earlier thought.  The tiny size snout-vent length of 22.7–24.5 mm, (Biju et al. 2010), the cryptic behaviour and specialised micro-habitat requirement such as the grassy clump among the high altitude grasslands, all put together make R. resplensens an elusive frog.

 

 

Reference

 

Biju, S.D., Y. Shouche, A. Dubois, S.K. Dutta& F. Bossuyt (2010). A ground-dwelling rhacophoridfrog from the highest mountain peak of the Western Ghats of India. Current Science98(8): 1119–1125.

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2011). Raorchestes resplendens. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Version 2012.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 15 September 2012.