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{{Short description|Species of frog}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Nyctibatrachus radcliffei (dorsolateral view).jpg
| image_alt = Reddish-brown frog
| taxon = Nyctibatrachus radcliffei
| authority = [[species:Sonali Garg|Garg]], Suyesh, Sukesan, and [[Sathyabhama Das Biju|Biju]], 2017<ref name="Garg2017" />
| range_map = {{Location map | India | relief = yes | caption = | alt = Upper Manalar in southern Western Ghats of India | lat_deg = 9.57 | lon_deg = 77.34 }}
| range_map_caption = ''N. radcliffei'' is known only from the [[Nilgiri Mountains]] of southern India
}}

'''''Nyctibatrachus radcliffei''''', also known as '''Radcliffe's night frog'''<ref name="ASW-species" /> or the '''Thiashola wrinkled frog''',<ref name="Dinesh2023" /> is a [[species]] of frog in the robust frog family [[Nyctibatrachidae]]. It was [[species description|described]] in 2017, along with six other species in [[Nyctibatrachus|its genus]], by the [[herpetologist]] Sonali Garg and her colleagues. A medium-sized frog for its genus, it has an adult male [[snout–vent length]] of {{Cvt|32.8–38.3|mm|in}}. It is mainly reddish-brown, with a light flesh-red coloured underside, light brown limbs, and dark grey hands and feet. When preserved in [[ethanol]], it is mostly dark grey, with grayish-white undersides.

The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[Western Ghats]] of India, where it is known only from the Thiashola estate in the [[Nilgiri Mountains]], where the specimens used to describe the species were originally collected. It is found in hill streams at elevations of around {{Cvt|1920|m|ft}}. The species may be threatened by [[habitat degradation]] and [[Habitat fragmentation|fragmentation]], but has not been assigned a conservation status by the [[IUCN]].

== Taxonomy and systematics ==
''Nyctibatrachus radcliffei'' was described in 2017 by the [[herpetologist]] Sonali Garg and her colleagues based on the [[holotype]], an adult male specimen collected from the Thiashola estate in the [[Nilgiris district]] of [[Tamil Nadu, India]] in 2016. The species is named after Major Richard Radcliffe, a British conservationist, to honour his contribution towards the conservation of wildlife in the [[Nilgiri Mountains]].<ref name="Garg2017" /><ref name="Johnsingh2009" />

There are no [[subspecies]] of ''N. major''.<ref name="ASW-species" /> It is currently treated as one of 34 species in the night frog genus ''Nyctibatrachus'', in the robust frog family [[Nyctibatrachidae]].<ref name="ASW-genus" /> According to the 2017 study in which it was described, it is [[Sister group|sister]] (most closely related) to a [[clade]] (group of organisms descending from a common ancestor) formed by ''[[Spinular night frog|N. acanthodermis]]'', ''[[Nyctibatrachus gavi|N. gavi]]'', ''[[Nyctibatrachus grandis|N. grandis]]'', ''[[Nyctibatrachus sylvaticus|N. sylvaticus]]'', and ''[[Nyctibatrachus major|N. major]]''. The clade formed by these five species and ''N. radcliffei'' is sister to ''[[Nyctibatrachus indraneili|N. indraneili]]''.<ref name="Garg2017" /> The following [[cladogram]] shows relationships within this clade based on a [[Phylogenetic tree|phylogeny]] by the study:<ref name="Garg2017" />

{{clade
|label1=
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Nyctibatrachus indraneili|N.{{nbsp}}indraneili]]''
|2={{clade
|1='''''N.{{nbsp}}radcliffei'''''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Nyctibatrachus grandis|N.{{nbsp}}grandis]]''
|2=''[[Nyctibatrachus sylvaticus|N.{{nbsp}}sylvaticus]]''
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Nyctibatrachus acanthodermis|N.{{nbsp}}acanthodermis]]''
|2=''[[Nyctibatrachus gavi|N.{{nbsp}}gavi]]''
}}
}}
|2=''[[Nyctibatrachus major|N.{{nbsp}}major]]''
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}

== Description ==
[[File:Nyctibatrachus radcliffei (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Figure showing different aspects of the species' morphology]]
''N. radcliffei'' is a medium-sized night frog, with a [[snout–vent length]] of {{Cvt|32.8–38.3|mm|in}} for adult males. The head is wider than it is long, and the [[snout]] is longer than the diameter of the eye. The [[Tympanum (anatomy)|tympanum]] (external ear) is indistinct, and the skin of the chest, belly, and limbs is rough in texture.<ref name="Garg2017" />

In adult males, the upperside of the body and the sides of head are reddish-brown with scattered blackish-brown spots, with dark brown upper eyelids. The underside of the body is light flesh-red, while the sides of the stomach and hind limbs are light reddish-brown with prominent black speckles. The forelimbs and hind limbs are mostly light brown, with faint brown transverse bands, and the hands and feet are dark grey. The webbing of the feet is light grey with minute black speckles. When preserved in 70% [[ethanol]], the upperside of the body and the sides of head change in colour to dark grey with scattered black spots, while the upper eyelids become dark grey and the underside becomes greyish-white. The sides of the stomach and hind limbs turn grey with dark grey spots, and the hands and feet become dark grey.<ref name="Garg2017" />

''N. radcliffei'' can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of its middling size; robust body; extensive webbing on the feet; noticeable wrinkling on the skin of the upperside, without conspicuous projections along the spine; a prominent Y-shaped ridge from the upper lip to the nostrils; the presence of the dorso-terminal groove (groove on the upper side of the tip of the digit) on the fourth toe; the absence of the dorso-terminal groove on the third finger; two [[Tubercle (bone)|tubercles]] on the palm; and the foot and lower leg each being shorter than the thigh and nearly equal in length to each other.<ref name="Garg2017" />

== Distribution, ecology, and conservation ==
''N. radcliffei'' is [[endemic]] to the [[Western Ghats]] of India, where it is known only from the Thiashola estate in the Nilgiri Mountains north of the [[Palakkad Gap]], where the specimens used to describe the species were originally collected. All known specimens of the frog have been collected from hill streams in a tea estate, hiding in crannies under rocks at elevations of around {{Cvt|1920|m|ft}}.<ref name="Garg2017" />

The species is thought to breed during the early [[Monsoon of South Asia|monsoon]]; tadpoles have been recorded in the month of October. [[Nuptial pads]] are absent in the frog, while [[Femoral gland|femoral glands]] (bulbous glands near the inner thigh) are weakly developed.<ref name="Garg2017" /> The species has not yet been assessed by the [[IUCN]].<ref name="Dinesh2020" /> It may be threatened by [[habitat degradation]] and [[Habitat fragmentation|fragmentation]].<ref name="Garg2017" />

== References ==
{{Reflist| refs=

<ref name="ASW-genus">{{Cite web |last=Frost |first=Darrel R. |date=2023 |title=''Nyctibatrachus'' |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Nyctibatrachidae/Nyctibatrachinae/Nyctibatrachus |website=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]] |language=en |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001}}</ref>

<ref name="ASW-species">{{Cite web |last=Frost |first=Darrel R. |date=2023 |title=''Nyctibatrachus radcliffei'' |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Nyctibatrachidae/Nyctibatrachinae/Nyctibatrachus/Nyctibatrachus-radcliffei |website=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]] |language=en |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001}}</ref>

<ref name="Johnsingh2009">{{Cite news |last=Johnsingh |first=A. J. T. |date=2009-08-13 |title=A walk in the clouds |language=en |website=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30187987.ece |access-date=2023-08-27 |quote=Major Radcliffe, a British hunter-turned-conservationist...}}</ref>

<ref name="Garg2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Garg |first1=Sonali |last2=Suyesh |first2=Robin |last3=Sukesan |first3=Sandeep |last4=Biju |first4=S. D. |name-list-style=amp |date=2017-02-21 |title=Seven new species of night frogs (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot of India, with remarkably high diversity of diminutive forms |journal=[[PeerJ]] |language=en |volume=5 |article-number=e3007 |doi=10.7717/peerj.3007 |pmc=5322763 |pmid=28243532 |doi-access=free }}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice |cc=by4 |url=https://peerj.com/articles/3007/ |authors=Garg, Suyesh, Sukesan, and Biju |from this source=yes}}</ref>

<ref name="Dinesh2020">{{Cite report |last=Dinesh |first=K. P. |last2=Radhakrishnan |first2=C. |last3=Channakeshavamurthy |first3=B. H. |last4=Deepak |first4=P. |last5=Kulkarni |first5=N. U. |name-list-style=amp |date=2020 |title=A Checklist of Amphibians of India with IUCN Conservation Statuses |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Zoological Survey of India]] |page=8}}</ref>

<ref name="Dinesh2023">{{Cite report |last=Dinesh |first=K. P. |last2=Radhakrishnan |first2=C. |last3=Deepak |first3=P. |last4=Kulkarni |first4=N. U. |name-list-style=amp |date=2023 |title=A Checklist of Indian Amphibians with common names for the country and their IUCN Conservation Status |edition=5th |publisher=[[Zoological Survey of India]] |page=9}}</ref>

}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q41798438}}
[[Category:Nyctibatrachus]]
[[Category:Frogs of India]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Endemic amphibians of India]]
[[Category:Amphibians described in 2017]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Sathyabhama Das Biju]]

Nyctibatrachus radcliffei - Revision history

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