Thomasset's Seychelles frog or Thomasset's frog (''Sooglossus thomasseti'') 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

Sooglossidae Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera ''Sechellophryne'', '' Nesomantis'' and '' Sooglossus'', but foll ...

. 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 ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. There are two known populations: one on

Silhouette Island Silhouette Island lies northwest of Mahé in the Seychelles. It is the third largest granitic island in the Seychelles. It has an area of 20.1 km2 and has a population of 200, mostly workers on the island. The main settlement is La Passe ...

and one on

Mahé Island Mahe, Mahé, Mähe, or MAHE may refer to: Places China * Mahe Township (, lit. "Horse Creek Village") in Li County in Gansu Estonia * Mähe, a subdistrict of Tallinn, Estonia India * Mahé, India, a municipality in Mahé distr ...

. 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 frog are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s, and intermittent rivers. Eggs are laid among rocks and hatch into miniature adults, bypassing a larval stage. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Genetic analysis indicates that the two populations of this species are distinct from each other and are possibly even separate species. It has thus been proposed that both populations be considered

evolutionary significant units An evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) is a population of organisms that is considered distinct for purposes of conservation. Delineating ESUs is important when considering conservation action. This term can apply to any species, subspecies, geo ...

for conservation purposes. This frog, the rarest in Seychelles, was named for its discoverer, Hans Paul Thomasset (1862-1949).Mathiot, Tony. �
The District Of Cascade: A Historical Perspective
��, Seychelles Ministry for Youth, Sports & Culture. Retrieved 24 Jun 2022.

References

Sooglossus Amphibians of Seychelles Endemic fauna of Seychelles Amphibians described in 1909 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Neobatrachia-stub