Clinotarsus alticola explained

Clinotarsus alticola[1] [2] is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. Common names for this species include: Assam Hills frog, Annandale's frog, pointed-headed frog, palebrown stream frog, hill frog, point-nosed frog, and high-altitude frog. It is found in Hills of Meghalaya and northeastern India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and West Bengal) to northern Bangladesh, possibly into Bhutan and Nepal.[3]

Habitat

Clinotarsus alticola inhabit evergreen forests near large streams (the habitat for their tadpoles) in hill areas, usually near waterfalls.

Description

Clinotarsus alticola are sexually dimorphic: males are 32mm47mm in snout–vent length and females 43mm61mm. The advertisement call of males is a bird-like "chirp". In breeding sites, males greatly outnumber females and attempt to dislodge one another from the backs of females. Outside the breeding season adult Clinotarsus alticola are rarely encountered.[4]

The tadpoles of Clinotarsus alticola are distinctive: they are large (up to 98mm in length), have many glands, and are black in colouration with red ocelli. The caudal ocellus is a unique feature among ranid tadpoles. Its colouration may be aposematic.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Catalogue of Life . March 27, 2012.
  2. Web site: Encyclopedia of Life . March 27, 2012.
  3. Web site: Clinotarsus alticola (Boulenger, 1882).
  4. Book: Sailo, S. . Studies on the ecology and biology of Rana alticola Boulenger (PhD thesis) . 2010 . North-Eastern Hill University . Shillong . 196 . 10603/5523 .
  5. Grosjean, S . M Perez . A Ohler . 2003 . Morphology and buccopharyngeal anatomy of the tadpole of Rana (Nasirana) alticola (Anura: Ranidae) . Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 51 . 1 . 101–107 .