''Rohanixalus punctatus'' 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
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
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 Myanmar.
[
]
Taxonomy and systematics
It was given the common name of Myanmar spotted treefrog when it was first described in 2003 on the basis of an adult male frog collected at the headquarters of the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range
Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range is a protected area in Myanmar's Rakhine Yoma mountains, covering about of evergreen and mixed deciduous forest at an elevation of .
Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range was established for the protection of the Asian elepha ...
.Rohanixalus
''Rohanixalus'' is a genus of tree frogs in the family Rhacophoridae native to the Andaman islands and Indo-Burma region. The genus was established in 2020 by Indian herpetologist S.D. Biju of the University of Delhi and his colleagues. The genus ...
'' in 2020 following a phylogenetic study.
Description
The Myanmar spotted treefrog is light brown in colour with dark spots on head, back and legs. Its head is round with a pointed, elevated snout and slightly protuberant nostrils. Its 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 ...
is external, and it does not have vomerine teeth. Its fingers are opposable and the third finger is the longest and has the largest disk. The webbing between the third and fourth fingers is short, and absent between the other fingers. Males are smaller than females. The snout-to-vent-length of 21 male specimen
Specimen may refer to:
Science and technology
* Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount
* Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...
s ranges from and of six female specimens from .[
]
Habitat and ecology
Individuals were found in disturbed habitat between mountain evergreen forests and agricultural land, 1-2m above the ground in bushes. This species may be restricted to remaining secondary habitat in Rakhine as remnant populations, or (as with ''Chirixalus
''Chirixalus'' is a genus of frogs in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae). Formerly used to classify Asian species of ''Chiromantis
''Chiromantis'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, commonly known as foam-nest frogs or foam-ne ...
'' species in Myanmar) they might prefer degraded habitats. Animals were not found in evergreen forests. The eggs are deposited in foam nests, in particular on plants of the genus ''Arum'', hanging over standing water. The larvae presumably develop in the water.[
]
References
External links
*
Rohanixalus
Amphibians of Myanmar
Endemic fauna of Myanmar
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Amphibians described in 2003
{{Rhacophoridae-stub