Reproduction and metamorphosis in the Myristica Swamp tree frog, Mercurana myristicapalustris (Anura: Rhacophoridae)

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Issue Date
2018-11-21Author
Abraham, Robin Kurian
Mathew, Jobin Kuruvilla
Raju, David Valiaparampil
Rao, Ramprasad
Zachariah, Anil
Publisher
PeerJ
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Rights
Copyright 2018 Abraham et al.
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The reproductive biology of the Myristica Swamp tree frog (Mercurana myristicapalustris), a monotypic rhacophorid frog endemic to the foothills of the Western Ghats mountains of India, has remained unknown since the description of the genus and species. We monitored individuals from parental generation amplexus to the completion of offspring generation tadpole metamorphosis. Surprisingly, our observations revealed that this species exhibits many previously unknown characteristics, including the first ever record of the female, and a diverse call repertoire, consisting of five different call types (the functions of which remain incompletely known). We were also able to determine that reproductive activity peaked during the late pre-monsoon season, that males engaged in intraspecific aggressive encounters to occupy and to defend desirable territories, and that oviposition took place in terrestrial nests made by females. Embryonic development in the unattended nest was followed by tadpole development, which concluded within 40 days. The specific breeding mode employed by Mercurana, which restricts its range to the endangered Myristica swamp ecosystem, likely renders it susceptible to multiple threats, which should be considered jointly in future conservation planning.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Citation
Abraham, R. K., Mathew, J. K., Raju, D. V., Rao, R., & Zachariah, A. (2018). Reproduction and metamorphosis in the Myristica Swamp tree frog, Mercurana myristicapalustris (Anura: Rhacophoridae). PeerJ, 6, e5934. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5934
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