''Nanorana blanfordii'' (common names: Blanford's frog, Blanford's paa frog, Blanford's spiny frog, Blanford's hill frog) is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Dicroglossidae The frog family Dicroglossidae occurs in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, with most genera and species being found in Asia. The common name of the family is fork-tongued frogs. The Dicroglossidae were previously considered to ...

. It is found in northeastern

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 ...

, southern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

( China), and eastern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, and likely in the adjacent western

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

. The specific name ''blanfordii'' honours William Thomas Blandford, a British geologist and zoologist.

Description

''Nanorana blanfordii'' are medium-sized frogs, though relatively small among their closest relatives: adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is not very distinct. The finger and toe tips bears discs; the toes are webbed. The dorsum is grey-brown and has some black markings with white margins. There are two black triangular marks between the eyes. The underparts are white. The

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

s are up to in length.

Habitat and conservation

''Nanorana blanfordii'' occurs in small streams and the surrounding grassland and temperate forest at elevations of above sea level. Breeding takes place in streams, and the eggs are laid in water under stones. ''Nanorana blanfordii'' is rare in China, whereas its population size is unknown elsewhere. Threats to it are unknown. It occurs in the Yadong National Nature Reserve in Tibet.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2697801 blanfordii Amphibians of China Frogs of India Amphibians of Nepal Fauna of Tibet Amphibians described in 1882 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot