Endangered
Raorchestes resplendens
Raorchestes resplendens
Raorchestes resplendens, the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frog belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi.
Appearance
Within 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.
Range and habitat
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. This frog has been observed between 1896 and 2695 meters above sea level, largely in grassland habitats. Raorchestes resplendens, the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frog belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
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.
In crisis
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.
Chytrid fungus, collection, and wet-forest loss are the usual pressures on frogs with a high threat category.
Raorchestes resplendens 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 Raorchestes resplendens, Wikidata item Q3419087. 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.
