Clinotarsus alticola

"Hill frog" redirects here. For other uses, see Hill frog (disambiguation).

"Annandale's frog" and "High-altitude frog" redirect here. For other uses, see Annandale's frog (disambiguation) and High-altitude frog (disambiguation).

Clinotarsus alticola
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Clinotarsus
Species:	C. alticola
Binomial name
Clinotarsus alticola (Boulenger, 1882)
Synonyms
Hylorana pipiens Jerdon, 1870 Rana alticola Boulenger, 1882 Nasirana alticola (Boulenger, 1882) Clinotarsus alticolus (misspelling)

Clinotarsus alticola[2][3] is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. Common names for this species include: Assam Hills frog, Annandale's frog, pointed-headed frog, palebrown stream frog, hill frog, point-nosed frog, and high-altitude frog. It is found in Hills of Meghalaya and northeastern India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and West Bengal) to northern Bangladesh, possibly into Bhutan and Nepal.[4]

Habitat

Clinotarsus alticola inhabit evergreen forests near large streams (the habitat for their tadpoles) in hill areas, usually near waterfalls.[1]

Description

Clinotarsus alticola are sexually dimorphic: males are 32–47 mm (1.3–1.9 in) in snout–vent length and females 43–61 mm (1.7–2.4 in). The advertisement call of males is a bird-like "chirp". In breeding sites, males greatly outnumber females and attempt to dislodge one another from the backs of females. Outside the breeding season adult Clinotarsus alticola are rarely encountered.[5]

Tadpoles—notice the caudal ocellus—and newly metamorphosed juvenile

The tadpoles of Clinotarsus alticola are distinctive: they are large (up to 98 mm (3.9 in) in length), have many glands, and are black in colouration with red ocelli. The caudal ocellus is a unique feature among ranid tadpoles. Its colouration may be aposematic.[6]

References

1. Peter Paul van Dijk, Annemarie Ohler, Sushil Dutta, Sabitry Bordoloi, Sohrab Uddin Sarker, Mohini Mohan Borah (2004). "Clinotarsus alticola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T58540A11798892. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58540A11798892.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "Catalogue of Life". Retrieved March 27, 2012.
3. "Encyclopedia of Life". Retrieved March 27, 2012.
4. "Clinotarsus alticola (Boulenger, 1882)".
5. Sailo, S. (2010). Studies on the ecology and biology of Rana alticola Boulenger (PhD thesis). Shillong: North-Eastern Hill University. p. 196. hdl:10603/5523.
6. Grosjean, S; M Perez; A Ohler (2003). "Morphology and buccopharyngeal anatomy of the tadpole of Rana (Nasirana) alticola (Anura: Ranidae)" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 51 (1): 101–107.