The Hindu, September 13, 2014
Travancore Bush Frog (Raorchestes travancoricus),
classified as extinct by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and on the
red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
was found last month by Mumbai-based researchers David V. Raju and
Saurab Sawanth in the grasslands of Wagamon, believed to be their
habitat. The other habitats are the Periyar Valley (Kerala), Meghamala
and Bodinayakanur (Tamil Nadu), and Coorg (Karnataka) in Western Ghats.
The
animal, in the family of Rhaorpherdae, was not recorded for long since
its first description by George Albert Boulenger in 1891. In 2009, S.D.
Biju and Franky Bossuyt, two Delhi University researchers, had announced
its rediscovery in the Western Ghats, as part of the first amphibian
survey of the Western Ghats, conducted by the School of Environment
Studies, University of Delhi. The duo had detailed their discovery,
along with 11 other species, in the
Zoological Journal
of the Linnean Society in 2009. A single male was spotted in 2004 from Vandiperiyar, near Thekkady, in Kerala.
The
Travancore Bush Frog, also known as Travancore bubble-nest frog, is
endemic to the southern Western Ghats. The tropical moist evergreen
forest and tea plantations are its natural habitat. The male measures 23
to 25 mm and the female, 30 mm in length. Mr. Raju told
The Hindu
that its discovery in Uluppuni, in the sensitive Wagamon grassland, a
biological hotspot, was a good sign. However, uncontrolled human
intervention in Wagamon could pose problems for the species. He said he
was planning to carry out a survey in the area for their clusters.
The new discovery opens up a window for more chances of their fragmented habitats in an intensive survey, Mr. Raju said.
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