->Monkbot: Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (4/00:03.61);

2021-11-20T01:16:42Z

Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (4/00:03.61);

New page

{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Raorchestes resplendens.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = CR
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |date=2011 |title=''Raorchestes resplendens'' |volume=2011 |page=e.T189814A8772103 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T189814A8772103.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Raorchestes resplendens
| authority = Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta, and Bossuyt, 2010<ref name=Biju/>
| synonyms =
}}

'''''Raorchestes resplendens''''', the '''resplendent shrubfrog''', is a critically endangered species of [[frog]]s belonging to the family [[Rhacophoridae]] endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi.<ref name=frost/> It has extremely short limbs and numerous macroglands and was discovered from the [[Anamudi]] summit (2695 m [[above sea level|asl]]) in the [[Western Ghats]] of [[Kerala]], [[India]] and is known only from the Eravikulam National Park.<ref name=Biju>{{cite journal | author = Biju S.D. |author2=Y. Shouche |author3=A. Dubois |author4=S. K. Dutta |author5=F. Bossuyt | title = A ground-dwelling rhacophorid frog from the highest mountain peak of the Western Ghats of India | journal = [[Current Science]] | year = 2010 | volume = 98 | issue = 8 | pages = 1119–1125 | url = http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_098_08_1119_1126_0.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = New species of frog found in Eravikulam National Park | work = [[The Hindu]] | url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/article422619.ece | date = 5 May 2010 | access-date = 15 May 2010}}{{open access}}</ref>

==Description==
Within the generally small ''[[Raorchestes]]'', ''Raorchestes resplendens'' qualify as medium-sized frogs: males grow to a snout-vent length of {{convert|23|-|25|mm|abbr=on}} and females to {{convert|25|-|28|mm|abbr=on}}. 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 (biology)|dorsum]], on the [[anterior]] side of the [[cloaca|vent]], on the dorsal side of forearm and shanks and on the [[Posterior (anatomy)|posterior]] side of the [[tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] and [[metatarsus]]. The limbs are much shorter than in other ''Raorchestes''. The iris is red.<ref name=Biju/>

==Distribution==
The species was initially thought to live within three km<sup>2</sup> on the Anamudi summit within the [[Eravikulam National Park]], India<ref name=Biju/> but researchers found another site about 20 km away within the same national park.<ref name=frost/><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.11609/JoTT.o3214.3082-4|title=Additional record of Resplendent Bush Frog ''Raorchestes resplendens'' (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats, India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=4 |issue=11 |pages=3082–3084|year=2012 |last1=Joseph |first1=Jobin |last2=Jobin |first2=K.M. |last3=Nameer |first3=P.O.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Etymology and systematics==
The genus ''Raorchestes'' is named in honour of [[C. R. Narayan Rao]] in recognition of his contribution to Indian [[batrachology]]. The scientific nomen ''Orchestes'' is based on the first generic nomen coined for frogs of the ''[[Philautus]]'' group, ''Orchestes'' Tschudi 1838. The specific epithet ''resplendens'' is a Latin term meaning 'bright coloured, glittering, resplendent' referring to the bright red or orange pigmentation.<ref name=Biju/>

While ''Raorchestes resplendens'' are morphologically striking and different from other ''Raorchestes'', [[molecular phylogenetics]] place them clearly within that genus. This suggests rapid morphological evolution in ''Raorchestes resplendens''.<ref name=Biju/>

==Behaviour==
''Raorchestes resplendens'' have very short limbs, and the species is characterized by pronounced crawling behaviour. It is a ground-dwelling species,<ref name=Biju/> while most ''Raorchestes'' are typically found on vegetation above the ground, some of them being arboreal.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Biju | first1 = S. D.| author-link1 = Sathyabhama Das Biju| last2 = Bossuyt | first2 = F. | doi = 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00466.x | title = Systematics and phylogeny of ''Philautus'' Gistel, 1848 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) in the Western Ghats of India, with descriptions of 12 new species | journal = Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 155 | issue = 2 | pages = 374–444| year = 2009 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

''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 {{convert|4.5|mm|abbr=on}} in snout-vent length.<ref name=Biju/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=frost>{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/index.php/ |title=''Raorchestes resplendens'' Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta, and Bossuyt, 2010 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2016 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Raorchestes resplendens}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Raorchestes resplendens}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3419087}}

[[Category:Raorchestes|resplendens]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Frogs of India]]
[[Category:Amphibians described in 2010]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Sathyabhama Das Biju]]

Raorchestes resplendens - Revision history

->Monkbot: Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (4/00:03.61);