A compact
amphibian field guide for Kerala
Unmesh
Katwate
Bombay
Natural History Society Hornbill House, Opp. Lion Gate, Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India
Common Amphibians of Kerala (Frogs and
Toads)
P.S. Sivaprasad
Date of publication: 2013
Publisher: Kerala State Biodiversity
Board, Thiruvananthapuram
Pages: i-228pp.
Price: 250.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o4039.5795-6
Date of publication: 26 May 2014 (online & print)
Since
the last decade Western Ghats of India has witnessed a resurgence in amphibian
taxonomy with the description of many new species and family (e.g., Biju &
Bossuyt, 2003; Abraham et al. 2013). Researchers have reported unique
evolutionary radiations, distinct evolutionary elements and some distinct
behavioral adaptations in amphibians of this region. Being the most populated and fragmented
biodiversity hotspot, amphibians of the Western Ghats are more threatened by
habitat degradation, restricted range of distribution and fungal infection
(Dahanukar et al. 2013; Padhye et al. 2013). Amphibians have been considered as good
bio-indicators for predicting environmental changes at regional as well as at
global context. Especially in the recent years, description of many enigmatic
amphibian species across the Western Ghats has received more public
attention. Along with scientific
descriptions field guides on morphologically identifiable taxa are
substantially useful for researchers, layperson, amateur naturalists and
photographers. Along with
familiarizing people with surrounding biodiversity and enriching their interest
in natural history study, field guides also help in conservation and management
practices at regional scale. The
“Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats” and android
application “Frog Find” (a heavy application) by K.V. Gururaja are some recent
good attempts in Western Ghats for popularizing this group in the public
domain.
The
recent book “Common Amphibians of Kerala (Frogs and Toads)” published by
P. S. Sivaprasad in 2013 drew my attention. I feel it is a highly appreciable
effort made by the author and the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. The author
communicates well with the reader in popularizing the regional amphibian
diversity of Kerala State. I have
discussed some of the strengths and weaknesses of this book.
The
book provides an account of 82 amphibian species found in Kerala part of
Western Ghats with nice field photographs and key species diagnostic features.
This book has a commentary on scientific and common names of species, size,
morphological features and district wise distribution across the state, and
IUCN threat status. Efforts have
been made in this book to give an account on possible regional threats to the
species. The author provides good
photographs for the species with scale and its diagnostic morphological
features like skin color, dorsum pattern, tympanum, toe etc. The text is simple and introduces the
reader to identification of amphibian species at family and genus level through
detail account on marked distinguishable characters.
Mostly
positive, there are a couple of issues that the author can address in the next
edition, if any. The author uses the old generic name Fejervarya instead
of Zakerana, which is the valid genus (Howlader 2011; Frost 2014). Some species have the wrong IUCN threat
status, e.g., Raorchestes jayarami (Biju & Bossuyt, 2009) and Raorchestes
nerostagona (Biju & Bossuyt, 2005). In the book IUCN status of Raorchestes
jayarami is given as Data Deficient (DD) when in fact the species is still
not assessed on the IUCN Red List, therefore the species should be treated as
non assessed (NA). Raorchestes nerostagona has been represented as Data
Deficient (DD) whereas according to the IUCN the status is Endangered
(EN). Along with correct use of
IUCN threat status it is also expected that the book should carry the citation
of IUCN for threat status use. Apart from these few points the book is very well written and I did not
find any mistakes in species names or glaring typographical errors.
Apart
from available scientific information the book delivers much good unpublished
and important information. Though the available IUCN threat status of the
species like Raorchestes travancoricus (Boulenger, 1891) is Extinct
(EX), the book clearly points that there are extant populations of this species
in Idukki District of Kerala. The
book also delivers good information regarding when the species was described,
common name and its habitat preferences with some natural history notes. I admire this book for readers as it is
one of the best field guide for identification of amphibians in Kerala part of
Western Ghats. Field guides like this book are needed from other parts of
Western Ghats. This book along with
the Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats by K.V.
Gururaja are good attempts at providing simple and usable field guides that
other states can emulate.
References
Abraham,
R.K., R.A. Pyron, B.R. Ansil, A. Zachariah & A. Zachariah (2013). Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae)
highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India. Zootaxa 3640:
177–189; http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3
Biju,
S.D. & F. Bossuyt (2003). New frog family from
India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles. Nature425: 711–714; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature02019
Biju,
S.D. & F. Bossuyt (2005). A new species of frog
(Ranidae, Rhacophorinae,Philautus) from the rainforest canopy in the Western
Ghats, India. Current Science 88 (1): 175–178.
Biju,
S.D. & F. Bossuyt (2009). Systematics and
phylogeny of Philautus Gistel, 1848 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) in the Western Ghats
of India, with descriptions of 12 new species. Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society 155: 374–444.
Dahanukar,
N., K. Krutha, M.S. Paingankar, A.D. Padhye, N. Modak & S. Molur (2013). Endemic Asian chytrid strain Infection in threatened and endemic
anurans of the northern Western Ghats, India. PLoS ONE 8(10): e77528; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077528
Frost,
D.R. (2014). Amphibian Species of the World: an Online
Reference. Version 6.0 (Date of access). Electronic Database accessible at
http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html. American Museum of
Natural History, New York, USA.
Howlader,
M.S.A. (2011). Cricket frog (Amphibia: Anura:
Dicroglossidae): two regions of Asia are corresponding two groups. Bangladesh
Wildlife Bulletin 5: 1–7.
Padhye,
A.D., A. Sayyed, A. Jadhav & N. Dahanukar (2013). Raorchestes ghatei, a new species of shrub frog (Anura:
Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 5(15): 4913–4931; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3702.4913-31