Franky's narrow-mouthed frog (''Mysticellus franki'') 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is the only member of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Mysticellus'', the mysterious narrow-mouthed frogs. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is only known from Wayanad District in northern

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 ...

state. Taxonomic evidence indicates that its closest relatives are the '' Micryletta'' frogs of Southeast Asia.

Etymology

The genus name, ''Mysticellus'', is a masculine noun derived from the Latin ''mysticus'' (meaning "mysterious") + ''ellus'' (a diminutive), highlighting the ability of this small frog to remain out of sight despite its occurrence in wayside areas surrounding human settlements. The species name, ''franki'', is a Latin genitive honoring evolutionary biologist professor Franky Bossuyt of

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...

, recognizing his role in global amphibian research and education, and particularly for his contribution to the study of Indian amphibians.

Behavior

This species is only visible during the first two days of monsoon showers, when it tends to congregate in temporary water puddles including in abandoned roadside quarries, which was where the type specimens were discovered. During courtship, the male tends to raise the hind part of its body, displaying a pair of black "false eyes" or eyespots. This action is also performed when individuals are disturbed, indicating that they may also be used to ward off predators. After 4 or 5 days, all adult frogs disappear from the breeding site, leaving just the eggs.

References

Microhylidae Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Fauna of Kerala Frogs of India Amphibians described in 2019 Taxa named by Sathyabhama Das Biju {{Microhylidae-stub