''Walkerana leptodactyla'' 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 ...
to the southern
Western Ghats in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
states of southern India. Precise reports are from
Anaimalai hills
The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wes ...
,
Palni hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the hi ...
,
Meghamalai
Meghamalai (Tamil: மேகமலை), commonly known as the High Wavy Mountains, is a mountain range located in the Western Ghats in the Theni district near Kumily, Tamil Nadu. It is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea plantations. The ...
,
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
hills and
Agasthyamalai
Agastyaarkoodam is one of the peaks in the Western Ghats of Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. This peak is a part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve which lies on the border between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli d ...
.
It is a terrestrial to semi-aquatic frog associated with the leaf-litter of high-elevation evergreen montane forest; it is not known from modified habitats. It is uncommon and believed to be declining in abundance.
[
]
Description
Vomerine teeth in two oblique groups just behind the level of the choanae. A free, pointed papilla on the middle of the tongue. Head moderate, rather depressed; snout blunt, with moderate canthus rostralis; interorbital space as broad as, or a little narrower than, the upper eyelid; tympanum distinct, half the diameter of the eye. lingers moderate, first not extending as far as second; toes one-third or one-fourth webbed; tips of fingers and toes dilated into small but well-developed disks; subarticular tubercles well developed; a small, oval, inner metatarsal tubercle; no tarsal fold. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tip of the snout or beyond. Skin of the back with short longitudinal glandular folds; a fold from the eye to the shoulder. Olive or brownish above, mottled with darker; a more or less distinct subtriangular dark spot between the eyes, often limited in front by a light cross band; sometimes a light vertebral band; a black band along the canthus rostralis, and a black temporal spot; limbs cross-barred; beneath, immaculate or spotted with brown, sometimes brown dotted with white.
From snout to vent 1.3 inches.[Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia]
References
leptodactyla
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats
Frogs of India
Amphibians described in 1882
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
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