''Walkerana diplosticta'', also known as the spotted leaping frog,Daniels, Ranjit 2005, Amphibians of Peninsular India. Universities Press. p. 195 Malabar Indian frog, rufous leaf-hopper frog, and Günther's frog, 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

Ranixalidae Ranixalidae is a family of frogs commonly known as the leaping frogs or Indian frogs. They are endemic to central and southern India. Genera There are two genera with a total 18 species: *''Indirana ''Indirana'' is a genus of frogs in t ...

. 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 the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap and only known with certainty from the states of

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 ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

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 ...

. Localities with confirmed records include the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

Description

''Walkerana diplosticta'' is a relatively small frog reaching a snout–vent length of about ; among specimens with species identification confirmed with genetics methods, two adult males measure and two adult females in snout–urostyle length. The canthus rostralis is distinct. The tympanum is distinct and relatively large. The finger and toe tips bear discs. The toes are partially webbed. The dorsum is grey-pink or reddish-brown. The snout is paler and bordered by dark bar between the eyes. A brown stripe runs from the snout to the shoulder. The groin has brown spots. The ventrum is light brown with darker spots. The limbs are cross-barred. Dorsal skin is smooth.

Habitat and conservation

''Walkerana diplosticta'' was assessed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

in 2004 and includes records that are now considered requiring confirmation. At the time, it was considered to be an uncommon species and believed to be declining. It is a terrestrial frogs found near hill streams in primary wet evergreen and semi-evergreen tropical forests and swamps; is not present in secondary forest or modified habitats. It breeds on wet rocks, and 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 i ...

s are found on wet rock surfaces next to streams.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3150486 diplosticta Frogs of India Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Amphibians described in 1876 Taxa named by Albert Günther Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN