Resplendent shrubfrog
Raorchestes resplendens, the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frogs belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi. It has extremely short limbs and numerous macroglands and was discovered from the Anamudi summit (2695 m asl) in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India and is known only from the Eravikulam National Park.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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starts withWithin the generally small Raorchestes, Raorchestes resplendens qualify as medium-sized frogs: males grow to a snout-vent length of 23–25 mm (0.91–0.98 in) and females to 25–28 mm (0.98–1.10 in). Individuals of the species are distinguishable from all members of the genus by their bright reddish orange colour and multiple prominent glandular swellings present laterally behind the eyes, on the side of the dorsum, on the anterior side of the vent, on the dorsal side of forearm and shanks and on the posterior side of the tarsus and metatarsus. The limbs are much shorter than in other Raorchestes. The iris is red.
The species was initially thought to live within three km2 on the Anamudi summit within the Eravikulam National Park, India but researchers found another site about 20 km away within the same national park.
Raorchestes resplendens have very short limbs, and the species is characterized by pronounced crawling behaviour. It is a ground-dwelling species, while most Raorchestes are typically found on vegetation above the ground, some of them being arboreal.
Raorchestes resplendens females burrow their eggs under the moss-covered forest floor, deep inside the base of bamboo clumps. As mature eggs were found in the oviduct of a female after oviposition, females of this species may mate with more than one male and breed more than once in a single season. Parents do not tend their eggs after oviposition. As is typical for the genus, development is direct, without a free-swimming larval stage. Hatching takes place after about 3–4 weeks. Upon hatching, froglets are fully mobile and measure about 4.5 mm (0.18 in) in snout-vent length.
