Gardiner's Seychelles frog (''Sechellophryne gardineri'') is a small

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 ...

of the family Sooglossidae and

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

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 ...

. It is named after John Stanley Gardiner, English zoologist and oceanographer.

Description

Gardiner's frog is one of the smallest frogs in the world, reaching a maximum length of . Newly hatched frogs measure in length. Adult males are long. It is brown in color, and has a dark stripe running from its mouth to its legs. This frog is notable for its ability to hear despite the absence of a middle ear cavity. Research has shown that the species is able to use its mouth cavity to amplify sound and transmit it to the inner ear,as explained by co-author '' Jean-François Aubry''. SmallestFrogComparison

Ecology and behavior

Gardiner's frog is a terrestrial frog, feeding on small invertebrates including

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

s, sciarid larvae, ants, and

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

s. It is restricted to the high- and mid-altitude areas of Mahé and

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 ...

s of the

group. This is unusual among the Sooglossidae, as most are restricted to the high altitudes, which have a stable climate due to constant mist. Eggs are laid in small clumps on moist ground and hatch as fully formed small adult frogs. Although Gardiner's frog is common at many sites, it is classified as endangered by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

because it is restricted to only three locations representing five subpopulations.

Taxonomy

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.

References

External links

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Monitoring and research into Seychelles amphibians and reptiles
Sechellophryne Amphibians of Seychelles Endemic fauna of Seychelles Amphibians described in 1911 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger {{Neobatrachia-stub