Ranixalidae Explained

Ranixalidae is a family of frogs commonly known as the leaping frogs or Indian frogs. They are endemic to central and southern India, specifically in the Western Ghat mountain range. This mountain range encompasses the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.^[1] Ranixalidae can be found in Maharashtra,^[2] Goa,^[3] Karnataka, and Kerala.^[4] There is a large concentration of them in Goa and Maharashtra, however there are still considerable amounts of species within the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala, where there are other frogs within the Indirana genus.^[5]

Scientists say the two groups of frogs in Ranixalidae, Indirana and Walkerana, split around 58.4 million years ago.

Genera

There are two genera with a total 18 species:

• Indirana Laurent, 1986 — 14 species
• Walkerana Dahanukar, Modak, Krutha, Nameer, Padhye, and Molur, 2016 — 4 species

The respective species counts in the AmphibiaWeb are 15 (because Indirana tenuilingua, a nomen inquirendum, is listed) and three (Walkerana muduga Dinesh et al., 2020 not (yet) listed).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Centre . UNESCO World Heritage . Western Ghats . 2024-03-13 . UNESCO World Heritage Centre . en.
2. Padhye . A. D. . Modak . N. . Dahanukar . N. . 2014-09-26 . Indirana chiravasi, a new species of Leaping Frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghats of India . Journal of Threatened Taxa . en . 6 . 10 . 6293–6312 . 10.11609/JoTT.o4068.6293-312 . 0974-7907.
3. Modak . Nikhil . Dahanukar . Neelesh . Gosavi . Ninad . Padhye . Anand D. . 2015-07-25 . Indirana salelkari, a new species of leaping frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghats of Goa, India . Journal of Threatened Taxa . en . 7 . 9 . 7493–7509 . 10.11609/JoTT.o4262.7493-509 . 0974-7907.
4. Garg . Sonali . Biju . S. D. . 2016-11-16 . Molecular and Morphological Study of Leaping Frogs (Anura, Ranixalidae) with Description of Two New Species . PLOS ONE . en . 11 . 11 . e0166326 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0166326 . free . 1932-6203 . 5112961 . 27851823. 2016PLoSO..1166326G .
5. Garg . Sonali . Biju . S. D. . 2016-11-16 . Molecular and Morphological Study of Leaping Frogs (Anura, Ranixalidae) with Description of Two New Species . PLOS ONE . en . 11 . 11 . e0166326 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0166326 . free . 1932-6203 . 5112961 . 27851823. 2016PLoSO..1166326G .