AmphibiaChina 中国两栖类.

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN Red List Status Account Critically Endangered (CR) CITES No CITES Listing National Status None Regional Status None

Description
The snout-vent length is approximately 43mm in males and 56mm in females. Head width is slightly greater than length. Horizontally aligned and oval shaped pupils. A dark brown mark between eyes in the shape of the outline of hourglasses. Obvious tympanum, round snout, and teeth on upper-jaw. The interocular distance is greater than the width of eyelids. The dorsal surface is smooth, light brown, with dark gray or brown specks, many small granules, and a mark that is the outline of an arrow pointing toward the head. Thick dorsolateral fold extends from eyes to groin and is straight near the temporal area. Brown triangular spots on temporal fold. Tarsal fold is not obvious. Ventral surface is light yellow and smooth, with brown spots (including labial area). The ventral surface of the limbs are reddish, with small gray specks. Lower forelimbs and hind legs have irregularly shaped, dark, horizontal stripes. The hind legs are long, without femoral glands. The heels can overlap. Tibia is longer than half of the body length. Tips of digits are slightly swollen, with no grooves. Supernumerary tubercles near the base of fingers are not well developed, only two third webs exist between the outer three toes.

The marks and strips are not very obvious on female's dorsal area and legs. Males have dark purplish gray nuptial spines on the first toe, and the linea musculina on the back, but no vocal sac.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: China

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Rana chevronta resides in forests in Emeishan Natural and Historical Heritage Reserve in Sichuan, China. The habitat is well shaded and damp, with various grasses and bamboos growing among a mixture of latifoliate trees and conifers, abundant vegetation, and many still-water ponds. The elevation is about 1800m. The species is unique to Sichuan Province (County: Emei).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Adults stay in muddy holes and tussocks during the day, and escape to the muddy bottom of water ponds when threatened. The reproductive season is in late March, when they would reproduce at night and lay eggs in still water ponds that is no deeper than 20 cm. The eggs are laid in round bundles. The tadpoles grow up in still water, and move to land after metamorphosis. The main diet of adults are insects and small animals.

Trends and Threats
This species has not been seen since 1983. It resides in area less than 10 km2 within Emeishan Natural and Historical Heritage Reserve in Sichuan. Due to the limited range, the species is more vulnerable to habitat lost and air pollution that leads to acidification of streams.

References

Fei, L. (1999). Atlas of Amphibians of China. Henan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Zhengzhou.

Fei, L. and Ye, C. (2001). The Colour Handbook of the Amphibians of Sichuan. Chinese Forestry Publishing House, Beijing.

IUCN, Conservation International, and NatureServe. 2004. Global Amphibian Assessment. <www.globalamphibians.org>. Accessed on 14 February 2005.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2005 Rana chevronta: Chevron-spotted Brown Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5006> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 23, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 23 Nov 2024.

AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.