Taruga eques (common names: Günther's whipping frog, Spurred Tree-frog, Montane Hour-glass Tree-frog) is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the central hills of Sri Lanka.[1][2][3]
| Taruga eques | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Rhacophoridae |
| Genus: | Taruga |
| Species: | T. eques
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| Binomial name | |
| Taruga eques (Günther, 1858)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Polypedates eques Günther, 1858 | |
Taxonomy
editTaruga eques is a species of frog in the Rhacophoridae family, commonly known as shrub or flying frogs. The species was first described in 1858 by Albert Günther, who named the species Polypedates eques. In 1882, George Albert Boulenger described the species as Rhacophorus eques. Ernst Ahl upheld this classification in 1931 when he described the species as Rhacophorus (Rhacophorus) eques. In 1957, Kirtisinghe reclassified the species as Rhacophorus cruciger eques, and in 1992, the species was renamed again to Polypedates eques by Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi and Sushil Kumar Dutta. In 2010, the Taruga genus was established by a team led by Madhava Meegaskumbura, resulting in the species being renamed to Taruga eques. This reclassification was upheld in 2024 with the name Polypedates (Taruga) eques. The species is known colloquially as the Spurred Tree-frog, Gunther's Whipping Frog, and the Montane Hour-glass Tree-frog.[2]
Evolution
editThe genus Taruga is considered a sister genus to Polypedates. Divergence between these genus likely occurred in the Sundaland region (possibly India) before Polypedates dispersed in a northerly fashion. The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of Taruga eques among select members of the Rhacophoridae family, based upon Bayesian inference and maximum likelyhood comparison of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA:[4]
| Rhacophoridae |
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Description
editAdult males measure 33–43 mm (1.3–1.7 in) and females 59–71 mm (2.3–2.8 in) in snout–vent length. It resembles (and has been confused with) Taruga fastigo but has relatively shorter legs, narrower but longer head, an by the absence of the black line that connects the axilla and groin in Taruga fastigo, or that line being reduced to a band of blackish dots.[3] Taruga eques can be differentiated from the species included to the same genus with the presence of Calcar on the heel.[5]
Habitat and conservation
editTaruga eques inhabits montane tropical moist forests at elevations of 1,200–2,135 m (3,937–7,005 ft) above sea level. It is both arboreal and terrestrial, being found in canopies and on tree trunks as well as in grasses at the edge of ponds. The tadpoles are often found in both permanent and seasonal ponds. It is present in the Horton Plains National Park, Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve, Knuckles Mountain Forest Reserve, and the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary.[1]
While it is commonly found in Sri Lanka, it is classified as endangered by the IUCN due to habitat loss. It does not occur in habitats that have been modified by human action, showing that the species many not be able to tolerate human impacts to its environment. Knuckles Mountain Forest Reserve, a known habitat for the species, has recently been threatened by tea and cardamom plantations, unregulated construction, tourism, man-made forest fires, and invasive species. Decreases in rainfall due to climate change, subcutaneous parasitic infections, and forest dieback have also been identified as possible threats to the species.[1]
Polymorphism
editPolymorphism is defined as “arising of two or more distinct forms simultaneously in the same habitat of a species in such proportions that the rarest of them cannot be maintained by recurrent mutation’’.[6]
Gallery
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adult stage with "dorsal spots" pigment pattern found in world heritage Horton Plains National Park -
at Haggala -
at Haggala -
adult stage with dark brown dorsal colouration found in world heritage Horton Plains National Park -
adult stage with yellow dorsal colouration found in world heritage Horton Plains National Park
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_at_Horton_Plains_National_Park.jpg)
References
edit- ^ a b c d IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Taruga eques". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T58946A156586528. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T58946A156586528.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Taruga eques (Günther, 1858)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ a b Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum; Pethiyagoda, Rohan (2001). "Polypedates fastigo, a new tree frog (Ranidae: Rhacophorinae) from Sri Lanka" (PDF). Journal of South Asian Natural History. 5: 191–199.
- ^ Deng, X; Yuan, L; Yang, K; Klaus, S; Orlov, NL; Jiang, D; Li, J (2010). "Geographical rang evolution of whipping frogs based on a phylogeny of genus Polypedates (Anura: Rhacophoridae)". europepmc.org. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
- ^ De Silva, Anslem (2009). Amphibians of Sri Lanka: A Photographic Guide to Common Frogs, Toads and Caecilians (1st ed.). Kandy: Privately published. p. 125. ISBN 978-955-52061-0-5.
- ^ Ford, EB (1945). "Polymorphism". Biological Reviews. 20 (2): 73–88. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1945.tb00315.x. S2CID 221532346.