''Nannophrys naeyakai'', also known as the Sri Lanka tribal rock-frog or Sri Lanka tribal rock 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 ...

s in the family Dicroglossidae. It was described as a new species in 2007. 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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, where it is only known from two localities in

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

and Monaragala Districts. ''N. naeyakai'' can be distinguished from the other ''

Nannophrys ''Nannophrys'' is a genus of frogs endemic to Sri Lanka. It used to be placed in the large frog family Ranidae but a phylogenetic study was undertaken using DNA sequences and it is now included in the family Dicroglossidae. They are sometimes k ...

'' species by the details of the

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s on the fourth toe, sharp and narrow symphysial knob on the anterior edge of

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

and small

palmar Palmar may refer to: Anatomy, relating to the palm of the hand * Palmar aponeurosis, deep fascia connecting and within the muscles of the palm * Palmar arches (disambiguation), various combinations of arteries in the hand and arm * Palmar art ...

tubercles. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''naeyakai'' refers to the "''naeyaka''", spirits of deceased relatives in the believes of Vedda people living in the type locality area.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The head is depressed and wider than it is long. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct. The finger and toe tips are bluntly rounded; no webbing is present. Skin is somewhat rough dorsally with warty pustules on the flanks. The venter is smooth. The upper surfaces are brown with yellow-white marbling. The limbs have yellow-white cross bars. The venter is yellow-white without any markings.

Habitat and conservation

''Nannophrys naeyakai'' is associated with seasonal streams with rock crevices on hillsides at elevations between

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 ...

. Vegetation consists of scattered trees, and there is a ground cover of grasses dominated by ''

Cymbopogon ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

'' species. It is only active for a short period December–February, as the streams it lives in are seasonal. Outside the rainy season it hides underground. The species is more active during the night than at day time. This species is quite common at its two known locations, but searches at other hilltops in eastern Sri Lanka have not revealed new populations. Threats to its habitat include changing land use practices (i.e., burning of the grassland, felling of trees) that reduce water retention and eventually impact the small streams that this species depend on. This species is found in the Kokagala Forest Reserve.

Notes and references

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3335691 naeyakai Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Frogs of Sri Lanka Amphibians described in 2007 Taxa named by Mendis Wickramasinghe