Pseudophilautus newtonjayawardanei

species in the genus Pseudophilautus

Newton Jayawardane's shrub frog (Pseudophilautus newtonjayawardanei) is a frog. It lives in Sri Lanka. Scientists have seen it in exactly one place: Sripada Peak in the Peak Wilderness, between 1800 and 2000 meters above sea level.[2][3][1]

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

The adult female frog is 38.4 mm long from nose to rear end. The skin of the frog's back is the color of bronze metal. There is a white stripe in the middle of the back. There are dark brown stripes sideways from the eyes to where the legs meet the body. There is a dark brown mark between the eyes. There are small bronze marks on the nose and face. The sides of the body are lighter in color with green and brown and white spots. There are brown marks on the legs. The ends of the toes are almost white in color. The webbed skin is also off-white.[3]

This frog lives in cloud forests where the branches come together like a roof. People have seen it sitting on leaves 8 m above the ground.[3]

Like other frogs in Pseudophilautus, this frog hatches from its egg as a small frog. It never swims as a tadpole.[3]

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 Newton Jayawardane, a doctor who helped save animals in Sri Lanka.[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). 5 (4): 3789–3920. doi:10.11609/jott.864.3789-3920. Retrieved December 7, 2023.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Newton Jayawardane's Shrub Frog: Pseudophilautus newtonjayawardanei". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. p. e.T79101755A156589136. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T79101755A156589136.en. 79101755. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. "Pseudophilautus puranappu 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 9, 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dayupathi Eranda Nipunika Mandawala (September 26, 2021). Michelle S. Koo (ed.). "Pseudophilautus newtonjayawardanei Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, Rajeev, Ariyarathne, Chanaka, Priyantha, Bandara, Wickramasinghe, 2013". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved December 9, 2023.