''Micrixalus fuscus'' (dusky torrent frog or brown tropical frog) is a species of small frog found in dense forested hill streams in the
Western Ghats of
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 ...
.
Description
Males measure and females in snout–vent length.vocal sac
The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...
, a white patch on the lower jaw, and a prominent nuptial pad
A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. Triggered by androgen hormones, this breeding gland (a type of mucous gland) appears as a spiked ...
on the first finger. Characteristic for the genus, they display the "foot-flagging" behavior, where males tap their hindfeet and extend it, then stretching it out and shaking the foot at prospective mates and rival males. Male-male combats also involve kicking.[
: Snout pointed, prominent, generally longer than the orbital diameter; canthus rostralis angular: loreal region flat, vertical; nostril halfway between the eye and the tip of the snout; interorbital space as broad as the upper eyelid; tympanum small, indistinct. Toes nearly entirely webbed; disks moderate; subarticular tubercles small; a small inner metatarsal tubercle. The tibio-tarsal articulation reaches between the eye and the tip of the snout. Skin smooth above and beneath; a narrow glandular lateral fold; a fold from the eye to the shoulder. Brown or pinkish above; sides of head and body generally darker; limbs with dark cross bands; hinder side of thighs dark brown, with a more or less accentuated light median stripe; whitish beneath, marbled with brown. Male with two internal vocal sacs, the openings of which are very small. From snout to vent 1.2 inches.
]
Habitat
The natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of this species are fast-flowing streams covered by forest canopy. It is relatively abundant where it has been found.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2711663
fuscus
Amphibians described in 1882
Frogs of India
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats