Raorchestes travancoricus

Raorchestes travancoricus, variously known as the Travancore bushfrog, Travancore bubble-nest frog, or Travancore tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. The species is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. Its specific name, travancoricus, as well as its three common names, refer to its type locality, Bodinayakkanur in the former Travancore state (now in Tamil Nadu).[2]

Raorchestes travancoricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Raorchestes
Species:
R. travancoricus
Binomial name
Raorchestes travancoricus
(Boulenger, 1891)
Synonyms

Ixalus travancoricus Boulenger, 1891
Philautus travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891)
Pseudophilautus travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891)

Rediscovery

For some time, R. travancoricus was feared to be extinct.[3] In early 2009, University of Delhi researchers announced that the species had been rediscovered in the Western Ghats.[4] The rediscovery was a result of intense surveying in the Western Ghats. Before the discovery of a single male from Vandiperiyar in 2004, the species had not been recorded after its description in 1891 by George Albert Boulenger. More recently, two males have been found from Vagamon. The species remains very rare, and the known populations, both in Kerala, occur in disturbed habitat (tea plantations) outside protected areas.[5]

Description

R. travancoricus is a small frog, males measuring 22–25 mm (0.87–0.98 in) in snout-vent length and the single measured female 30 mm (1.2 in). Its back is light-greyish red to brown with prominent brown broad lines alternating with thin faint lines. It has a yellowish brown iris. R. travancoricus is a close relative of R. luteolus with which it could be confused.[5]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2015). "Raorchestes travancoricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015 (2015). doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T58927A3075035.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Raorchestes travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891)". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. Biju, S.D. (2004). "Raorchestes travancoricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. University of Delhi (3 February 2009). "Dozen New Tree Frogs Discovered In Rapidly Vanishing Habitat In India". ScienceDaily.
  5. Biju, S. D.; Bossuyt, F. (2009). "Systematics and phylogeny of Philautus Gistel, 1848 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) in the Western Ghats of India, with descriptions of 12 new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 155 (2): 374–444. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00466.x.

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA. 1891. On new or little-known Indian and Malayan Reptiles and Batrachians. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Sixth Series 8: 288-292. (Ixalus travancoricus, new species, p. 291).

Data related to Raorchestes travancoricus at Wikispecies

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