AmphibiaWeb - Indirana salelkari
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Indirana salelkari Modak, Dahanukar, Gosavi & Padhye, 2015
Netravali Leaping Frog
family: Ranixalidae
genus: Indirana
Species Description: Modak N, Dahanukar N, Gosavi N, Padhye AD 2015 Indirana salelkari, a new species of leaping frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghas of Goa, India. J Threatened Taxa 7: 7493-7509.
Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN Red List Status Account
CITES No CITES Listing
National Status None
Regional Status None
conservation needs Access Conservation Needs Assessment Report .

   

 
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Description
Indirana salelkari is a medium sized frog, with males having snout-urostyle lengths ranging from 24.7 - 27.7 mm and females having snout-urostyle lengths ranging from 30.0 - 30.9 mm. For both sexes, the head is longer than it is wide and the snout is longer than the horizontal diameter of the eye. The pupil is horizontal. The outline of the snout is suboval from a dorsal view, truncated from a lateral view, and slightly protruding beyond the mouth from a ventral view. The nostrils are closer to the snout than to the eye. The tympanum is around 75% of the diameter of the eye, is very close to the eye, and has distinct supra-tympanic folds. The upper eyelids are smooth and have widths of around ¾ of the horizontal diameter of the eye in males and just over half the eye diameter in females the eyelids . The inter-orbital distance is the same as the inter-narital distance in males and slightly shorter in females. The canthus rostralis is obtuse and the loreal region is slightly concave and oblique. The upper arm is shorter than the forearm, and the hands are long, with relative finger lengths of II < I < IV < III. The hands have palmer tubercles, including double outer palmer tubercles, moderate subarticular tubercles, and single supernumerary tubercles. The finger disks have semicircular grooves, and are moderate, broad, and truncated. The fingers do not have webs or skin fringes. The long hind limbs have shorter thighs than shanks. The total foot length is longer than the tibia, and relative toe lengths are I < II < III < V < IV. The toes have moderate disks with semicircular grooves. The inner metatarsal tubercle is thin and elongated and there is no outer metatarsal tubercle. The feet have webbing of the formula I1 – 2II1 – 2½III1¼ - 3IV3 – 1¼V. The dorsal and ventral areas have smooth skin with some longitudinal folds on the dorsal side. The lateral side is granular (Modak et al. 2015).

The collected tadpoles were in various prometamorphic and metamorphic stages. At tadpole stage 41, the larvae had a semi-condensed individual keratodont formula of 4[A1 - A4]/4[P1 - P2] with an oral apparatus that a horny beak divides into two lateral parts. The first anterior keratodont ridge (A1) is divided, but three following anterior keratodont ridges are lateral to the beak. The first posterior labia has one marginal (kerodont), the second is lateral (keradont), and the last two are continuous ridges (Modak et al. 2015).

Indirana salelkari differs from all other species in its genus based on traits including medium size, a head length that is longer than wide, a distinct canthus rostralis, finger I being longer than or equal to finger II, double outer palmar tubercles, long inner metatarsal tubercle, moderate webbing, crescentic marginal grooves on anterior sides of finger and toe disks, glandular folds on dorsal skin, granular ventral skin, a mottled throat, and dark brown palms and soles. Indirana salelkari differs from Indirana tenuilingua in that its inter-orbital distance is equal to or wider than its inter-narital distance (compared to an interorbital distance of over twice the distance separating the nostrils). Compared to Indirana semipalmata, Indirana salalkari has a broader head and moderately webbed toes, versus half webbed toes with a webbing formula of I2 – 2II2 – 3III2 – 3¼IV3¼ - 2V. Indirana beddomii has a webbing formula of I2 – 2II1 – 2III1 – 3IV3 – 1V. Indirana salelkari differs from Indirana brachytarsus in the former having a longer upper arm and moderate webbing (versus extensive webbing of formula I1 – 2II1 – 2½III1 – 3IV3 – 1V in Indirana brachytarsus). Compared to Indirana gundia, Indirana salelkari has tympanum flush with the lateral side of the head and disks with marginal grooves instead of sub-marginal grooves (Modak et al. 2015).

Indirana leithii and Indirana chiravasi tadpoles have oral apparatus similar to those of Indirana salelkari tadpoles due to their similar food (algal matter) and feeding locations (wet rocks and boulders) (Modak et al. 2015).

In life, Indirana salelkari has a dorsum ranging from pale to dark brown to pink. A dark band between the eyes continues on the upper eyelid. An interrupted W shaped patch on the anterior head is sometimes visible. Brown stripes run along the lower mandible, and are sometimes present on the upper mandible. Another brown stripe runs from the snout to the shoulder through the eye and tympanum. The forelimbs and hind limbs have transverse bands (which are paler in females) that also appear on the fingers and toes but may not appear in darker specimens. The lateral edges of the forelimbs have dense brown or black spots (females have fewer spots than males), which sometimes continue onto the ventral sides of the forelimbs. The palms and feet are dark brown and white on their ventral sides. Some specimens have a mottled brown throat. In preservative, the coloration largely remains the same except for the appearance of dark spots on the lateral abdomen and darkening around the outer palmer tubercle. No pink coloration remains in preservative (Modak et al. 2015).

Some sexual dimorphism was observed between four male and four female specimens. Females have eyelid widths that are just over half the diameter of the eye, while for males, it is ¾. Females have a slightly larger inter-narital width than inter-orbital width, and in males these distances are the same. During the breeding season, males develop femoral glands on the thighs and nuptial pads on the outer side of the first finger. Females have paler transverse bands on the forelimbs and hind limbs than males and have fewer spots on the lateral edges of forelimbs and hind limbs (Modak et al. 2015).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: India

 
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The Indirana salelkari specimens were found on the Tanshikar Spice Farm at Netravali (Neturlim) in Sanguem Taluk of South Goa, India. The elevation at the site is 78 m. The species is not known to exist anywhere else. Indirana salelkari occupies riparian habitats. A few juveniles were found under leaf litter, and tadpoles were collected from exposed lateritic substrate in the same area (Modak et al. 2015).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors

Indirana salelkari tadpoles were found on exposed lateritic substrate indicating their adaptation to terrestrial development (Modak et al. 2015).

Comments

The species authority is: Modak N, Dahanukar N, Gosavi N, Padhye AD. Indirana salelkari, a new species of leaping frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghats of Goa, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(9), 7493-7509

Indirana salelkari is a monophyletic group based on genetic analysis using Maximum likelihood analysis using a GTR+G+I nucleotide substitution model from 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and rhodopsin sequences. Indirana salelkari's sister taxa is Indirana chiravasi, from which it separated around 10.9 myr ago (Modak et al. 2015).

Indirana salelkari is the twelfth species of Ranixadae, a monogeneric family endemic to India’s Western Ghats (Modak et al. 2015).

The species name “salelkari” was chosen in honor of Prakash Salelkar, a Range Forest Officer in Goa who works to conserve wildlife in Goa and assists in field work there (Modak et al. 2015).

The 2014 IUCN redlist of threatened taxa lists six other Indirana species under threatened categories of "Critically endangered" or "Vulnerable", which encompasses half of the known species in this family (Modak et al. 2015).

References

Modak N, Dahanukar N, Gosavi N, Padhye AD (2015). ''Indirana salelkari, a new species of leaping frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghats of Goa, India.'' Journal of Threatened Taxa , 7(9), 7493-7509.



Originally submitted by: Sierra Raby (first posted 2016-11-03)
Edited by: Ann T. Chang (2016-11-09)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2016 Indirana salelkari: Netravali Leaping Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/8518> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.



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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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