Raorchestes kadalarensis

Raorchestes kadalarensis is a frog.  It lives in India.  Scientists have seen it between 1300 and 1700 meters above sea level.

The first place scientists saw this frog was a Kadalar tea farm in the Western Ghat mountains. Since then, they have seen the frogs in patches of forest between tea farms and in forests that have never been cut down. They see the frog on the dead leaves on the ground near streams. This frog hatches out of its egg as a small frog and never swims as a tadpole.

Scientists say this frog is at small risk of dying out because, even though it only lives in a small place, scientists think that half of all these frogs live in protected parks: Srivilliputhur Wildlife Sanctuary, Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, and Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Scientists say that climate change could also kill this frog. Because it lives high in the hills, the frogs cannot move north to colder places. They would have to climb down the hills to warmer places first.

Scientists have seen the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on other frogs in Raorchestes, so they think it could infect R. jayarami too. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis causes the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

First paper

References

Category:Frogs of Asia