''Uperodon palmatus'' 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the central hills of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Common names Parker's dot frog, Parker's globular frog, and half-webbed pug-snout frog have been coined for it. ''Uperodon palmatus'' inhabits montane tropical moist forest habitats at elevations of

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 ...

. Adults occur in leaf-litter (at least partially

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

ly), under stones and other ground cover, beneath bark, on the trunks of trees, and in the canopy. It is a rare species. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

caused by the conversion of forests used to cultivate land (tea plantations), logging, and droughts and fire (especially in the

Horton Plains National Park Horton Plains National Park () is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It covers an area of 31km² and borders Thotupalakanda Nature Reserve. It is located at an elevation of and encompasses montane ...

). It occurs in a number of protected areas.

References

palmatus Frogs of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker Amphibians described in 1934 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Microhylidae-stub