Melanobatrachus

Melanobatrachus is a genus of narrow-mouthed frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is the only remaining genus in the monotypic subfamily Melanobatrachinae. It contains a single species, Melanobatrachus indicus,[2] also known as the Indian black microhylid frog and Malabar black narrow-mouthed frog. It is endemic to wet evergreen forests of southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of India. It has been recorded from Anaimalai, Munnar, Palni hills, Periyar Tiger Reserve and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve[3]

Melanobatrachus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Melanobatrachinae
Noble, 1931
Genus: Melanobatrachus
Beddome, 1878
Species:
M. indicus
Binomial name
Melanobatrachus indicus
Beddome, 1878

Melanobatrachus indicus is a rare species[1] that was only rediscovered in 1997.[4] It lives amongst leaf-litter, rocks and other ground cover of moist evergreen tropical forests.[1]

The subfamily Melanobatrachinae included two African genera, Hoplophryne Barbour & Loveridge, 1928 and Parhoplophryne Barbour & Loveridge, 1928, in the past but they are now placed in the subfamily Hoplophryninae.[5]

Melanobatrachus indicus is an Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species.[4] It is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Melanobatrachus indicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T13032A166095464. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Melanobatrachus Beddome, 1878". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Melanobatrachus indicus Beddome, 1878". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  4. "Black Microhylid Frog (Melanobatrachus indicus)". Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species. The Zoological Society of London. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Hoplophryninae Noble, 1931". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

Further reading
  • Biju, S.D. 2001. A synopsis to the frog fauna of the Western Ghats, India. Occasional Publication 1. ISCB. 1-24.
  • Daltry, J.C. and Martin, G. 1997. Rediscovery of the black narrow-mouth frog Melanobatrachus indicus Beddome, 1878. Hamadryad 22(1):57-58.
  • Dutta, S.K. 1997. Amphibians of India and Sri Lanka. Odyssey Publishing House. Bhubaneswar.
  • Ishwar, N.M. 2000. Melanobatrachus indicus Beddome, 1878, resighted at the Anaimalai Hills, southern India. Hamadryad 25:50-51.
  • Vasudevan, K. 1997. Rediscovery of the black microhylid Melanobatrachus indicus (Beddome, 1878). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 94:170-171.
  • Vasudevan, K. 2000. An amazing frog from the Western Ghats. Biodiversity India 8-12:12.
  • Nixon A M A and Bhupathy, S. 2007 Occurrence of Melanobatrachus indicus beddome 1878 in Mathikettan shola, Western Ghats. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 104:(1),105-6.


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