Uperodon Explained

Uperodon is a genus of microhylid frogs. They occur in South Asia (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh) and Myanmar. Uperodon reached its current composition in 2016 when the genus Ramanella was brought into its synonymy. The common names of these frogs are globular frogs and balloon frogs in reference to their stout appearance,^[1] or dot frogs, the last specifically referring to the former Ramanella.

Uperodon includes burrowing frogs that eat ants and termites.^{[1] [2]}

Species

There are 12 recognized species:

• Uperodon anamalaiensis (Rao, 1937)
• Uperodon globulosus (Günther, 1864)
• Uperodon montanus (Jerdon, 1853)
• Uperodon mormoratus (Rao, 1937)
• Uperodon nagaoi (Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda, 2001)
• Uperodon obscurus (Günther, 1864)
• Uperodon palmatus (Parker, 1934)
• Uperodon rohani Garg, Senevirathne, Wijayathilaka, Phuge, Deuti, Manamendra-Arachchi, Meegaskumbura, and Biju, 2018
• Uperodon systoma (Schneider, 1799)
• Uperodon taprobanicus (Parker, 1934)
• Uperodon triangularis (Günther, 1876)
• Uperodon variegatus (Stoliczka, 1872)

The AmphibiaWeb also lists Uperodon minor Rao, 1937, which is considered synonym of Uperodon anamalaiensis by the Amphibian Species of the World.

Notes and References

1. Book: Boulenger, G. A.. George Albert Boulenger. Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. 1890 . 495–497. Taylor and Francis. London.
2. Das. I.. Resource use and foraging tactics in a south Indian amphibian community. 1996. Journal of South Asian Natural History. 2. 1 . 1–30.