''Ghatixalus'' is a genus of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s in the family

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are com ...

, subfamily

Rhacophorinae The Rhacophorinae are a subfamily of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. They range from tropical Africa and Asia to temperate China and Japan. Genera The following genera are recognised in the subfamily Rhacophorinae, representing 422 species: * ...

. They are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to a larger clade consisting of ''

Chiromantis ''Chiromantis'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south thro ...

'', ''

Feihyla ''Feihyla'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are found in southern China and Vietnam, and likely also in Laos. Its phylogenetic position is not yet fully resolved, but it is probably the sister taxon ...

'', ''

Taruga Taruga is an archeological site in Nigeria famous for the artifacts of the Nok culture that have been discovered there, some dating to 600 BC, and for evidence of very early iron working. The site is 60 km southeast of Abuja, in the Mid ...

'', ''

Polypedates ''Polypedates'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, the shrub frogs and Paleotropic tree frogs. They belong to subfamily Rhacophorinae. Members of this genus are collectively known as whipping frogs. They occur in eastern and south ...

'', and ''

Rhacophorus ''Rhacophorus'' is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae) and the related Hylidae make up the true tree frogs. They are found in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are currently recognised. ...

''. The name of the genus combines words "Ghats" and "''Ixalus''". The former refers to the Western Ghats, and the latter to now-abandoned genus name that lives as the suffix in many generic names for rhacophorid frogs.

Description

''Ghatixalus'' are medium-to giant-sized frogs with adult males measuring and females adults (male SVL 38.8–82 mm, female 58.1–66.7 mm) in snout-vent length. They have a dorsal color pattern with dark brown prominent blotches. Eggs develop in foam nests followed by a free-swimming

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

stage. Their habitat is associated with mountain streams throughout their life cycle.

Distribution and natural history

This exclusively

Shola Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are foun ...

forest specialist genus is distributed only in the high elevations of Nilgiris and Anaimalai-Palnis, only above 1600 m asl. Most of the sightings were near streams and streamside often on bare ground, grass clumps on ground or rocks nearby. Although belonging to rather

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

frog family, these frogs are

terrestrial animals Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g. cats, dogs, ants, spiders), as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water (e.g. fish, lobsters, octopuses), and amphibians ...

Species

There are only 3 recognized species in the genus ''Ghatixalus'': * ''

Ghatixalus asterops ''Ghatixalus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the sister taxon to a larger clade consisting of ''Chiromantis'', ''Feihyla'', ''Tar ...

'' Biju, Roelants, and Bossuyt, 2008 endemic to Upper

Palni Hills The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the ...

Anaimalai Anaimalai is a taluk in Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Agricultural day work is the main occupation. Paddy, banana, sugarcane and other crops are grown in the area. Anaimalai is a pilgrimage spot, due to the worship o ...

and

High Ranges High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

. * ''

Ghatixalus magnus ''Ghatixalus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the sister taxon to a larger clade consisting of ''Chiromantis'', ''Feihyla'', ''Tar ...

'' Abraham, Mathew, Cyriac, Zachariah, Raju and Zachariah, 2015 endemic to the

Hills,

Cardamom Hills The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, w ...

Meghamalai Meghamalai (Tamil: மேகமலை), commonly known as the High Wavy Mountains, is a mountain range located in the Western Ghats in the Theni district near Kumily, Tamil Nadu. It is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea plantations. The ...

and

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Tra ...

Hills * ''

Ghatixalus variabilis ''Ghatixalus variabilis'' is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It has a number of common names, including green tree frog, though it is terrestrial rather than arboreal in ...

'' (Jerdon, 1854) endemic to Upper

Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

The

Palakkad Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north a ...

is believed to be a prominent biogeographic barrier that has caused speciation between the sister species ''G. asterops'' and ''G. variabilis''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2336860 Rhacophoridae Amphibians of Asia Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Taxa named by Sathyabhama Das Biju Amphibian genera