Endangered
Pseudophilautus hypomelas
Pseudophilautus hypomelas
Pseudophilautus hypomelas is a frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Sri Lanka.
Appearance
Its snout–vent length is 17–22 mm (0.67–0.87 in), with males being smaller than females. Some specimens also have a prominent white stripe running from the tip of the snout to anus and below.
In 2004 it was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature when, despite extensive field efforts, no specimen had been seen in the wild after the species was described by Albert Günther in 1876.
Range and habitat
The newly discovered Pseudophilautus hypomelas were found in elevations of 750–1,400 m (2,460–4,590 ft) in lower montane rain forests, not far from the Adam's Peak in the Peak Wilderness. The species seems to prefer grassy habitats without full canopy cover, such as those in disturbed areas. Pseudophilautus hypomelas is a frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Sri Lanka.
Pseudophilautus hypomelas has not been reassessed by IUCN, but Wickramasinghe et al. Suggest that it should now be classified as "endangered", given that the species is only known from a single, small area, and that there are severe anthropogenic threats to the habitat, despite being located in Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, a protected area.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
Calling males and egg sites define most frog field work. A species known from one ridge is as narrow as it sounds.
Eggs and damp skin make amphibians quick to vanish from a drained wetland or a forest stripped of litter.
In crisis
Chytrid fungus, collection, and wet-forest loss are the usual pressures on frogs with a high threat category.
Pseudophilautus hypomelas 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 Pseudophilautus hypomelas, Wikidata item Q28003619. 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.
