''Uperodon rohani'', commonly known as Rohan's globular frog, is a species of
Microhylid frog. 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
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, ...
.
Etymology
It was named after scientist
Rohan Pethiyagoda
Rohan David Pethiyagoda is a Sri Lankan biodiversity scientist, amphibian and freshwater-fish taxonomist, author, conservationist and public-policy advocate.
Early life and career
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 19 November 1955 Pethiyagoda ha ...
, known for his works on Sri Lankan fishes and amphibians, among others.
Taxonomy
It was previously considered
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...
with ''
Uperodon variegatus
''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 syn ...
,'' but was separated in 2018. The genetic difference between them is large, around 2.8%.
Description
It is a small frog, typically around long in males and in females. It is maroon with slightly pale olive yellow spots, blotches and streaks. Near its belly and thigh there are densely packed olive speckles.
It has a partially translucent foot and ankle.
Distribution
It is found throughout
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, ...
, but is most abundant in the lowlands.
Habitat
It is found in wet environments, such as ponds and puddles. It regularly interacts with humans, being common in water bodies and reservoirs, agricultural land such as paddyfields, and moist locations within houses and buildings, such as bathrooms.
References
Fauna of Sri Lanka
rohani
{{Microhylidae-stub