Indirana sarojamma

Sarojamma's leaping frog (Indirana sarojamma) is a frog.  It lives in India in the Western Ghat mountains, south of the Palghat Gap in Kerala.

Body

This is one of the largest frogs in Indirana. It hatches out of its egg as a tadpole.

Home

This frog lives in forests that have never been cut down and in evergreen forests. People see them on wet rocks and  dead leaves on the ground. Sometimes people see them on tree farms, but it needs places where the tree branches come together like a roof. So it cannot live in places where all the trees have been cut down. People have seen this frog between 488 and 1014 meters above sea level.

Danger

Scientists believe this frog is in some small danger of dying out. They say chemicals meant to kill pests can kill this frog, but people only use those chemicals in some of the places where the frog lives. Sometimes people hit this frog with cars or trucks.

Scientists also think climate change could hurt this frog. They think it could change the weather that the frog needs to lay eggs.

Some of the places the frog lives are protected parks: Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary.

Scientists have seen the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on other frogs in Indirana, but they do not know how much danger the frog is in from the fungus. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis causes the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

First paper

References

Category:Frogs of Asia