Description
Pseudophilautus schneideri is a moderate sized frog with snout vent length of 19.9 – 22.8 mm in males and 20.7 mm in females. Body elongate. Head laterally convex. Snout obtusely pointed in dorsal view, pointed in lateral view. Canthal edges sharp. Loreal region flat. Interorbital space convex. Internasal space flat. Nostrils oval. Pupil oval, horizontal. Tympanum distinct, oval, vertical. Pineal ocellus absent. Vomerine ridge present only on right side, bearing small teeth, between, anterior to and proximal to choanae, angled at about 45° to body axis. Tongue moderate, emarginate, not bearing a lingual papilla. Supratympanic fold distinct. Cephalic ridges absent. Co-ossified skin on head absent. Both upper and lower arms short. Fingers thin. Relative length of fingers, 1 < 2 < 4 < 3. Tips of fingers with discs, with circum-marginal grooves. Fingers lack a lateral dermal fringe. Webbing on fingers absent. Subarticular tubercles on fingers distinct, oval, single, some absent IV 2 (penultimate subarticular tubercle). Prepollex oval, distinct. Two palmar tubercles, oval, distinct. Supernumerary tubercles absent. Thigh slender. Shank slender. Toes thin. Relative length of toes, 1 < 2 < 3 < 5 < 4. Tips of toes with discs, with circum-marginal groves. Webbing present on toes. Subarticular tubercles on toes distinct, oval, single, all present. Inner metatarsal tubercle distinct, oval. Outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Tarsal fold absent. Supernumerary tubercles present on toes and foot. Tarsal tubercle absent. Small tubercles with horny spinules on dorsal and lateral parts of head and body and dorsal side of flank. Lower flank granular. Dorsolateral fold absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of upper arm, lower arm, thigh, shank and foot smooth. Throat, chest and belly granular, underside of thigh smooth. Nuptial pad present on inner edge of 1st finger and on prepollex, creamy yellow, oval. Vocal sacs and internal vocal slits present Ventral side of foot pale yellowish brown with dark-brown patches. Throat, margins of throat, chest, belly, underside of thigh and webbing pale yellowish with dark-brown pigments (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

Color in life: Head dorsally light brown, laterally dark brown. Supratympanic area, upper tympanum and interorbital area black. Mid-dorsum dark brown with tiny black and dark brown spots. Both upper and lower areas of flank pale brown with dark-brown spots. Inguinal area yellowish brown with dark-brown spots. Dorsal and lateral parts of limbs pale brown with dark-brown spots. Lower arm with one, thigh with three and shank with three dark-brown crossbars. Fingers and toes pale yellowish brown with dark-brown pigments. Outer edge of ventral side of foot dark brown. Ventral side of foot pale yellowish brown with dark-brown patches. Throat, margins of throat, chest, belly, underside of thigh and webbing pale yellowish with dark-brown pigments (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

Color in alcohol: Snout dorsally pale brown, laterally dark brown. Supratympanic area, middle of tympanum and interorbital area dark brown. Mid-dorsum dark brown with tiny dark spots. Both upper and lower areas of flank pale brown with dark-brown spots. Inguinal zone yellowish pale brown. Both upper and lower lips dark brown. Dorsal and lateral parts of limbs pale brown with dark-brown spots. Lower arm with one, thigh with one and shank with two dark-brown cross-bars. Fingers and toes pale yellowish brown with dark-brown pigments. Outer edge of ventral side of foot dark brown. Ventral side of foot pale yellowish brown with dark-brown patches. Throat, margins of throat, chest, belly, underside of thigh and webbing pale yellowish with dark-brown pigments. Paratype (WHT6354): A thin yellow line on mid dorsum from tip of snout to vent, on mid-thigh, on mid-flank and rear edge of foot.gle, all present. Inner metatarsal tubercle distinct, oval. Outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Tarsal fold absent. Supernumerary tubercles present on toes and foot. Tarsal tubercle absent. Small tubercles with horny spinules on dorsal and lateral parts of head and body and dorsal side of flank. Lower flank granular. Dorsolateral fold absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of upper arm, lower arm, thigh, shank and foot smooth. Throat, chest and belly granular, underside of thigh smooth. Nuptial pad present on inner edge of 1st finger and on prepollex, creamy yellow, oval. Vocal sacs and internal vocal slits present (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Sri Lanka

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Found in lowland wet zone fain forests such as Sinharaja forest reserve, Kanneliya forest reserve, Elpitiya forest reserve, Bodhinagala forest reserve and others at elevations between 1100 – 1400m (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011; Batuwita et al. 2019).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
These frogs are observed perched on leaves of shrubs, 0.5–1.0 m above ground in open habitats. Individuals are also observed in forest edges and in anthropogenic habitats such as home gardens and tea plantations. Most individuals are observed in the undergrowth of neglected tea plantations with extensive weedy undergrowth adjacent to rainforest. (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

All frogs of this genus are terrestrial direct developers (Bahir et al. 2005).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Habitat fragmentation

Comments
Pseudophilautus schneideri is named after Prof. Christopher J. Schneider, an evolutionary biologist and herpetologist of the Department of Biology, Boston University, USA (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

Morphologically, P. schneideri resembles P. folicola. It is distinguished from the latter, however, by possessing an obtusely pointed snout in lateral aspect (vs. snout rounded or truncate in lateral aspect); having the loreal region flat (vs. concave); lacking (vs. possessing) a lateral dermal fringe on fingers; lacking (vs. possessing) supernumerary tubercles on the palm; and having the underside of the thigh smooth (vs. granular) (Meegaskumbura and Manamendra-Arachchi 2011).

References

Bahir, M. M., Meegaskumbura, M., Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Schneider, C. J., and Pethiyagoda, R. (2005). ''Reproduction and terrestrial direct development in Sri Lankan shrub frogs (Ranidae: Rhacophorinae: Philautus).'' The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 12, 339-350. [link]

Batuwita S, Udugampala S, DeSilva M, Diao J and Edirisinghe U. (2019). "A review of amphibian fauna of Sri Lanka: distribution, recent taxonomic changes and conservation." Journal of Animal Diversity, 1(2), 44-82. [link]

Meegaskumbura M and Manamendra-Arachchi K (2011). "Two new species of shrub frogs (Rhacophoridae: Pseudophilautus) from Sri Lanka." Zootaxa, 2747, 1-18. [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2021 Pseudophilautus schneideri <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7617> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

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

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