Crab-eating frog

The crab-eating frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) is a frog native to south-eastern Asia including Taiwan,[2] China, the Philippines and more rarely as far west as Orissa in India.[3] It has also been introduced to Guam, most likely from Taiwan.[4] It inhabits mangrove swamps and marshes and is one of 144 known modern amphibians which can tolerate brief excursions into seawater, and is possibly the only extant marine amphibian.[5]

Crab-eating frog
Fejervarya cancrivora from Bogor, West Java
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Dicroglossidae
Genus: Fejervarya
Species:
F. cancrivora
Binomial name
Fejervarya cancrivora
(Gravenhorst, 1829)
Synonyms

Rana cancrivora Gravenhorst, 1829
Rana cancrivora ssp. raja Smith, 1930
Fejervarya raja (Smith, 1930)

This frog can tolerate marine environments (immersion in sea water for brief periods or brackish water for extended periods) by increasing urea production and retention, and by remaining slightly hyperosmotic within urea and sodium flux.[6][7][8] Adults can survive in salt water with salinity as high as 2.8%, and tadpoles can survive salinities as high as 3.9%.[9]

Diet

The food sources of the crab-eating frog are mainly determined by the locally available prey. Near fresh water, its diet consists largely of insects. But in an environment with brackish water, small crustaceans, including crabs, form the main part.[10]

Human consumption

In Southeast Asia, the crab-eating frog is locally hunted for food and is often farmed for its edible legs, including in Java, Indonesia.[11]

References
  1. Yuan Zhigang, Zhao Ermi, Shi Haitao, Diesmos, A.; Alcala, A.; Brown, R.; Afuang, L.; Gee, G.; Sukumaran, J.; Yaakob, N.; Leong Tzi Ming, Yodchaiy Chuaynkern, Kumthorn Thirakhupt, Das, I.; Iskandar, D.; Mumpuni.; Robert Inger (2004). "Fejervarya cancrivora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T58269A11759436. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58269A11759436.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Lue, Kuang-Yang. "Fejervarya cancrivora". BiotaTaiwanica. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  3. Rare species of frog, snake in Orissa
  4. Wostl, Elijah, Eric N. Smith, and Robert N. Reed. 2016. Origin and Identity of Fejervarya (Anura: Dicroglossidae) on Guam. Pacific Science 70(2):233-241. https://doi.org/10.2984/70.2.9
  5. Hopkins, Gareth R.; Brodie, Edmund D. (2015). "Occurrence of Amphibians in Saline Habitats: A Review and Evolutionary Perspective". Herpetological Monographs. 29: 1–27. doi:10.1655/HERPMONOGRAPHS-D-14-00006. S2CID 83659304.
  6. Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut; Lee, Ping (1962). "Kidney function in the crab-eating frog (Rana cancrivora)" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 39 (1): 167–177. doi:10.1242/jeb.39.1.167. PMID 13908824.
  7. Dicker, Sebastian Ernest; Elliott, Annie B. (March 1970). "Water uptake by the crab-eating frog Rana cancrivora, as affected by osmotic gradients and by neurohypophysial hormones". Journal of Physiology. 207 (1): 119–32. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009052. PMC 1348696. PMID 5503862.
  8. Tatsunori, Seki; Sakae, Kikuyama; Noboru, Yanaihara (1995-10-15). "Morphology of the skin glands of the crab-eating frog: Rana cancrivora". Zoological Science. 12 (5): 623–6. doi:10.2108/zsj.12.623. S2CID 86285729.
  9. Gordon, Malcolm S.; Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut; Kelly, Hamilton M. (1961), "Osmotic regulation in the crab-eating frog (Rana cancrivora)", Journal of Experimental Biology, 38 (3): 659–678, doi:10.1242/jeb.38.3.659
  10. Annie B. Elliott; Letha Karunakaran (October 1974). "Diet of Rana cancrivora in fresh water and brackish water environments". Journal of Zoology. 174 (2): 203–215. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1974.tb03152.x.
  11. Kusrini, MD (2005). Edible frog harvesting in Indonesia: evaluating its impact and ecological context. Ph.D. dissertation, James Cook University.
  • Berry, P. Y. (1975). The Amphibian Fauna of Peninsular Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Tropical Press.
  • Inger, Robert F. (1966). The Systematics and Zoogeography of the Amphibia of Borneo. Chicago (IL): Field Museum of Natural History. ISBN 983-99659-0-5.
  • Inger, Robert F.; Stuebing, Robert B. (1997). A Field guide to the Frogs of Borneo (2nd ed.). Kota Kinabalu, Borneo: Natural History Publications. ISBN 983-812-085-5.
  • Iskandar, Djoko Tjahono (1998). Amfibi Jawa dan Bali. Bogor (Indonesia): Puslitbang Biologi - LIPI. ISBN 979-579-015-3.
  • Iskandar, Djoko Tjahono; Colijn, Ed (December 2000). "Preliminary Checklist of Southeast Asian and New Guinean Herpetofauna. I. Amphibians". Treubia. 31 (3 Suppl): 1–133.
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