Pseudophilautus karunarathnai

species in the genus Pseudophilautus

Karunarathna’s shrub frog (Pseudophilautus karunarathnai) is a frog. It lives in Sri Lanka. People have seen it between 700 and 1450 meters above sea level near Sripada Peak.[2][3][1]

Pseudophilautus karunarathnai
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Pseudophilautus
Species:
P. karunarathnai
Binomial name
Pseudophilautus karunarathnai
Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, Rajeev, Ariyarathne, Chanaka, Priyantha, Bandara, Wickramasinghe, 2013

The adult male frog is 16.2 – 16.3 mm long from nose to rear end and the adult female frog is about 19.2 mm long. The skin of the frog's back is the color of cream with darker brown marks. There is a cross-shaped mark between the eyes and a smaller one near the nose. There is a sideways stripe on the back. The back legs are cream in color. The belly is dull white in color with marks. The webbed skin is dark brown in color.[3]

People have seen this frog sitting in shrubs as high as 1.5 meters above the ground in rainforests and sometimes people's gardens. There are fewer of this frog than there were in the past. Scientists say that this is because human beings cut down forests to make towns and cities, to make farms and places for animals to eat grass, and to get wood to build with.[3]

Scientists named this frog after Y.G.P. Karunarathna, of Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife Conservation.[3]

First paper

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  • Wickramasinghe LJM; Vidanapathirana DR; Rajeev MDG; Ariyarathne SC; Chanaka AWA; Priyantha LLD; Bandara IN; Wickramasinghe N. (2013). "Eight new species of Pseudophilautus (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Sripada World Heritage Site (Peak Wilderness), a local amphibian hotspot in Sri Lanka". J Threatened Taxa (Abstract and figures). 5: 3789–3920. doi:10.11609/jott.864.3789-3920. Retrieved December 4, 2023.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Karunarathna's Shrub Frog: Pseudophilautus karunarathnai". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. p. e.T79101750A156589131. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T79101750A156589131.en. 79101750. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. "Pseudophilautus karunarathnai Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, Rajeev, Ariyarathne, Chanaka, Priyantha, Bandara, Wickramasinghe, 2013". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Dayupathi Eranda Nipunika Mandawala (September 26, 2021). Michelle S. Koo (ed.). "Pseudophilautus karunarathnai Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, Rajeev, Ariyarathne, Chanaka, Priyantha, Bandara, Wickramasinghe, 2013". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved December 4, 2023.