''Raorchestes ochlandrae'' (common name: Ochlandrae reed frog) is a species of shrub frog in the family
Rhacophoridae
The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly ...
.
[ It is endemic to the Western Ghats, ]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 ...
. This species of the oriental shrub frog was first described from Kakkayam Reserve Forest of Calicut district
Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised.
T ...
, 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, in the southern Western Ghats in 2007 but has since been recorded at many other sites along the Western Ghats.[ 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 ...
''ochlandrae'' refers to microhabitat of the species, bamboo ''Ochlandra setigera
''Ochlandra'' is a genus of Indian bamboo in the grass family).
The species are endemic to the Western Ghats (India), except for one species from Sri Lanka.
;Species
;Formerly included
see '' Cathariostachys Nastus Schizostachyum Valiha''
* ...
''.[
]
Description
Males measure and females, based on only one measured specimen, in snout–vent length. The female was observed in amplexus
Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of mating behavior exhibited by some externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process, and at the same ...
and was larger than the male it was paired with.[
This species is distinguished from congeners by the combination of characters such as body small, elongate, squat and flat; head arched, wider than long; snout short rounded, equal or sub equal to diameter of eye; ]canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...
rounded; tympanum indistinct but visible; eyes protruding, pupil with striking golden yellow dentition like marks; belly granular; 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 ...
unpigmented; fleshy brown to cream yellow dorsum with two distinct golden yellow lateral bands bordered by dark brown from upper eyelid to the posterior part of flanks.[
]
Distribution
The species 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 ...
to the Western Ghats mountains, reported from parts of the Nilgiris
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
and Anaimalai Hills
The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wes ...
. It is reported from evergreen forests with bamboos around 600 to 1000 metres above mean sea level.
Taxonomy
Genetic studies indicate that the Ochlandra reed frog is part of an evolutionary clade comprising five lineages including ''R. ochlandrae'', '' R. chalazodes'', '' R. manohari'', '' R. uthamani'', and a lineage described as ''Raorchestes flaviocularis
''Raorchestes'' is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that are found in mountainous regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and southern China. A recent study places ''Raorchestes'' as a sister taxon of ''Pseudophilautus''. Before ...
.''
Habitat and conservation
This species inhabits dense stands of the bamboo ''Ochlandra setigera
''Ochlandra'' is a genus of Indian bamboo in the grass family).
The species are endemic to the Western Ghats (India), except for one species from Sri Lanka.
;Species
;Formerly included
see '' Cathariostachys Nastus Schizostachyum Valiha''
* ...
'', growing on forest edges and in more in open habitats. The frogs reside in the hollow tube of internodal region of bamboo about two to three metres above the ground.[
The species occurs in the Western Ghats mostly along forest streams and other sites where ''Ochlandra'' stands remain.]
Breeding
The Ochlandrae reed frog has a unique breeding habit of nesting within the hollow internodes
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...
of ''Ochlandra
''Ochlandra'' is a genus of Indian bamboo in the grass family).
The species are endemic to the Western Ghats (India), except for one species from Sri Lanka.
;Species
;Formerly included
see '' Cathariostachys Nastus Schizostachyum Valiha
...
'' bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
culms. Although they have been recorded in internodes of different Ochlandra species, breeding has been recorded so far in ''Ochlandra setigera
''Ochlandra'' is a genus of Indian bamboo in the grass family).
The species are endemic to the Western Ghats (India), except for one species from Sri Lanka.
;Species
;Formerly included
see '' Cathariostachys Nastus Schizostachyum Valiha''
* ...
''. The frogs enter the hollow culms through small holes. Calling males may sit outside the entrance holes. While the entrance holes are towards the bottom of the internodes, eggs are deposited on the inside wall of the bamboo towards the upper side. A clutch size of six eggs has been reported. The presence of frogs in the bamboo indicates parental care
Parental care is a behavioural and evolutionary strategy adopted by some animals, involving a parental investment being made to the evolutionary fitness of offspring. Patterns of parental care are widespread and highly diverse across the animal k ...
by males in this species as in the similar ''Raorchestes chalazodes
''Raorchestes chalazodes'' (Chalazodes bubble-nest frog, white-spotted bush frog, or Günther's bush frog) is a species of critically endangered frog in the family Rhacophoridae. ''Raorchestes chalazode''s is a nocturnal and arboreal species fo ...
'', with both species also showing direct development of eggs into juveniles.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3024195
ochlandrae
Amphibians described in 2007
Frogs of India
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats