Nyctibatrachus major

Appearance

Nyctibatrachus major is a large species of night frog, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. Other species in the "large" group of Nyctibatrachus range in size from 41 to 77 mm (1.6 to 3.0 in). The upperside is dark greyish-brown, with variable light grey and dark brown markings, and the underside is greyish-white. The lores (area between the eyes and nostrils) and area around the tympanum (external ear) are dark brown, with a dark grey stripe between the eyelids, and the irises are dark brown.

It is a large frog for its genus, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females.

It was described in 1882 by the zoologist George Albert Boulenger, and is the type species of the genus Nyctibatrachus.

Range and habitat

The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India, where it is found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. It was previously thought to also occur in Maharashtra, but those records are likely erroneous. Adults inhabit fast-moving streams in evergreen deciduous forest, secondary forest, and forest edge at elevations of 0–900 m (0–2,950 ft).

When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly greyish-brown to grey, with whitish sides.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Breeding

Adults are mostly nocturnal and spend most of their time in aquatic environments, most commonly being seen on rocks near water. The species' life cycle and breeding behaviour are poorly known.

Females possess egg cells undergoing several stages of maturity at any time. This suggests that they lay multiple small clutches of eggs over several days or weeks, instead of one large clutch at once. Adults are mostly found in or near water and are nocturnal. Subadults can be found during both the night and day.

In crisis

The species is currently classified as being endangered on the IUCN Red List owing to its small and severely fragmented range and ongoing habitat degradation. Threats to the species include habitat loss, increased human presence near the streams it inhabits, and possibly nitrate pollution caused by fertiliser overuse. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by factors such as deforestation, wood and timber harvesting, and conversion of land for agricultural use.

It is also threatened by the construction of check dams, road construction, and an increase in tourism in its range. Consequently, increased human activities that alter their habitat may lead to declines in the species' population, as has occurred in the related N. Aliciae.

Chytrid fungus, collection, and wet-forest loss are the usual pressures on frogs with a high threat category.

Nyctibatrachus major is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Nyctibatrachus major, Wikidata item Q2244429. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.