''Amolops monticola'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family Ranidae, the "

true frog True frogs is the common name for the frog family (biology), family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are p ...

s". It is found in the

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

, eastern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, and western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

), although there is some uncertainty regarding the Chinese records. It probably also occurs in the intervening Bhutan. Common names mountain sucker frog, mountain stream frog, mountain torrent frog, and mountain cascade frog have been coined for it.

Description

''Amolops monticola'' grow to a snout–vent length of . As is characteristic for the ''Amolops monticola'' group, skin is smooth, dorsolateral folds are present, and the side of head is dark, with a light-colored upper lip stripe extending to the shoulder. The tympanum is distinct. The finger and toe tips bear discs. The toes are webbed. Males have paired

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible Biological membrane, membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the voca ...

Tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s measure up to in total length, of which about two thirds is made up by the tail.

Habitat and conservation

''Amolops monticola'' occur in shaded stream rapids, but occasionally also in ponds. Its elevational range is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. This frog lays eggs in stone crevices along the edges of streams, and on aquatic plants. It is not considered threatened by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN).

References

monticola Frogs of China Frogs of India Amphibians of Nepal Amphibians described in 1871 Taxa named by John Anderson (zoologist) {{Ranidae-stub