Hole-in-the-head frog
The hole-in-the-head frog (Huia cavitympanum) is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is the only member of the genus Huia.[2] It is found on the island of Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and torrential rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.[1] The genus name honors Chinese herpetologist Shuchin Hu.[3]
| Hole-in-the-head frog | |
|---|---|
_Figure_4_(cropped).jpg.webp) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Huia Yang, 1991 |
| Species: | H. cavitympanum |
| Binomial name | |
| Huia cavitympanum (Boulenger, 1896) | |
H. cavitympanum is the only known species of frog to vocalize at only an ultrasonic level.[4] The frogs have eardrums recessed in the side of the skull, with an ear canal similar to mammals' anatomy. It appears to have evolved this higher pitch (more than 20 kHz) frequency of communication to circumvent the background noise of its waterfall habitat.
Taxonomy
H. cavitympanum is now considered the only member of this genus, but it was formerly a polyphyletic "wastebin taxon" with up to some 55 species. These included some originally placed into the genera Odorrana and Eburana, which formed a paraphyletic cluster; indeed these two genera are sometimes treated as junior synonyms of Huia. But many of the moves to Huia are now considered premature and Odorrana is now treated as valid as opposed to expanding Huia.[5]
Up till 2021, the genus was still paraphyletic with respect to Meristogenys. Suggested treatments included subsuming Meristogenys into the genus, or restricting Huia to the type species (H. cavitympanum) and what might be its closest living relatives (e.g. an undescribed species from Sumatra), and splitting off some other species of Huia - e.g. the Sumatran torrent frog (H. sumatrana). Meristogenys tadpoles are furthermore characterized by a split and ridged upper lip not found in the Hole-in-the-head Frog, indicating that the genera should kept separate.[5] This was ultimately resolved in 2021 by splitting off all non-cavitympanum species into the new genus Wijayarana, leaving the genus Huia monotypic.[2][6]
See also
- Concave-eared torrent frog (Odorrana tormota)
- Javan torrent frog (Wijayarana masonii)
References
- Cai, Hong-xia; Che, Jing, Pang, Jun-feng; Zhao, Er-mi & Zhang, Ya-ping (2007): Paraphyly of Chinese Amolops (Anura, Ranidae) and phylogenetic position of the rare Chinese frog, Amolops tormotus. Zootaxa 1531: 49–55. PDF abstract and first page text
- Stuart, Bryan L. (2008): The phylogenetic problem of Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46(1): 49-60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.09.016 (HTMl abstract)
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2019). "Huia cavitympanum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T58302A114920217. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T58302A114920217.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- "Huia Yang, 1991". Amphibian Species of the World.
- Yang, Datong. 杨大同; Yang, Datong 杨大同 (1991). Phylogenetic systematics of the Amolops group of ranid frogs of Southeastern Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands. Chicago, Ill: Field Museum of Natural History.
- Arch, V.S.; Grafe, T.U.; Gridi-Papp, M; Narins, P.M. (2009). "Pure Ultrasonic Communication in an Endemic Bornean Frog". PLOS ONE. 4 (4): e5413. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5413A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005413. PMC 2671607. PMID 19401782.
- Cai et al. (2007), Stuart (2008)
- Arifin, Umilaela; Chan, Kin Onn; Smart, Utpal; Hertwig, Stefan T; Smith, Eric N; Iskandar, Djoko T; Haas, Alexander (2021-01-12). "Revisiting the phylogenetic predicament of the genus Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae) using molecular data and tadpole morphology". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193 (2): 673–699. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa158. ISSN 0024-4082.
