''Amolops chakrataensis'', also known as the Dehradun stream frog or Chakrata torrent frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is only known from its type locality near Chakrata in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

(formerly

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

), near the

Tiger Falls The Tiger Falls are hidden in the hilly terrains of Chakrata in Uttarakhand, India. It is 98 km from the state capital, Dehradun, 20 km from Chakrata Chakrata is a cantonment town and also a sub district/tehsil, in Dehradun distric ...

. It was described based on a single specimen collected in 1985. After being "lost" for 25 years, the species was rediscovered in 2011 at its type locality, reflecting the lack of field work in the area.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

measures in snout–vent length. The head is wider than it is long. The eyes are relatively small. The snout is obtusely pointed. The tympanum is visible and the supratympanic fold is distinct. The fingers are long and slender and have well-developed terminal discs. The toe discs are smaller than the fingers ones. The dorsum is slaty brown (or light green with dark minute spots). The sides are olive to dark green. A dark brown canthal streak is bounded by white supratympanic fold. The upper lip is golden yellow and the lower one has brown patches. The limbs have brown crossbars. The ventral side is speckled with brown.

Habitat and conservation

''Amolops chakrataensis'' is a semi-aquatic species that occurs under rocks in stagnant pools near fast-flowing hill-streams in dense deodar forest at an elevation of about

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The eggs are laid on the leaves of aquatic plants. The threats to this poorly-known species are unknown, but the habitat near the Tiger Falls is highly degraded.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q596365 chakrataensis Frogs of India Endemic fauna of India Amphibians described in 1992