''Cornufer vitianus'', commonly known as Fiji ground frog or Viti wrinkled ground 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 ...

in the family

Ceratobatrachidae The Ceratobatrachidae are a family of frogs found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon Islands. Taxonomy Ceratobatrachidae was formerly treated as a subfamily (i.e ...

. It is

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 ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Presumed to be originally a forest species, it is nowadays also found in a range of man-made habitats, including degraded forest, rural gardens, plantations, and even close to the beach. The Fiji ground frog is found on four larger islands (

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...

, Ovalau, and Gau) and a small island, Viwa, (0.6 ha) off the eastern coast of the main island (Viti Levu) of the Fiji archipelago. The species maintains populations throughout the forested (primary, secondary and coastal/littoral) parts of these islands (Osborne, unpublished data). A largish frog, it can grow up to 100 g and to body lengths (SUL) of 110 mm. The larger individuals tend to be a very dull dark brown (sometimes with yellow spots on either side of the head near the tympanum). However, smaller adults and juvenile frogs can be highly polymorphic in coloration, with banding and stippling in darker or lighter hues of red, brown, green and curry-yellow. It is distinguished from the '' Cornufer vitiensis'' by its larger size and smaller toe pads. The Fiji ground is a nocturnal ground dweller, however, individuals have been encountered on low branches and leaves of riparian forest vegetation. It is thought to be a sit and wait predator, waiting for nocturnal insects to venture nearby.

Reproduction

The breeding cycle of these frogs is affected by extrinsic environmental conditions and intrinsic reproductive hormonal mechanisms. During the active breeding phase mature gravid females clearly show the presence of large creamy eggs. Nesting occurs terrestrially, mostly underneath rotting logs, and crevices within coconut tree bark and within bamboo. This species lays around 50-60 eggs inside prepared nests and covered with leaf litter. Embryonic development takes place over 29–30 days and froglets hatch directly from eggs forgoing the tadpole stage. The age at maturity of ''C. vitianus'' is still not known.

References

* Kuruyawa, J., Osborne, T., Thomas, N., Rounds, I., Morrison, C. and Morley, C. 2004. Distribution, abundance and conservation status of the Fijian Ground Frog (''Platymantis vitianus''). Unpublished report for the BP Conservation Programme. *Narayan, E., Christi, K., and Morley, C. (2008). ''Ecology and reproduction of the endangered Fijian Ground Frog ''Platymantis vitianus'' - Fiji Islands.'' South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, 26, 28–32. * Ryan, P. 2000. Fiji's Natural Heritage. Exisle Publishing Limited, Auckland. vitianus Amphibians of Oceania Frogs of Fiji Endemic fauna of Fiji Amphibians described in 1853 Taxa named by Auguste Duméril Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Ceratobatrachidae-stub