Cfreptiles & Amphibians

WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSIRCF REPTILES • VOL 15,& NAMPHIBIANSO 4 • DEC 2008 •189 26(3):205–210 • JAN 2020 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES Natural. Chasing Bullsnakes (HistoryPituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: of Ghate’s Shrub Frog, On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 Raorchestes. The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensisghatei) and Humans on(Rhacophoridae), Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 fromRESEARCH the ARTICLES Northern Western Ghats, India . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in FloridaAmit Sayyed and Anand Padhye .............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 Wildlife Protection and Research Society, 40 Rajaspura peth Satara, Maharashtra, India ([email protected]) CONSERVATION ALERT . World’s Mammals in Crisis ...............................................................................................................................Photographs by the senior author. .............................. 220 . More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225 HUSBANDRY mphibians employ. Captive a remarkable Care of the Central diversity Netted Dragon of ....................................................................................................... reproduc- Rhacophorids employ Shannon a varietyPlummer 226of reproductive modes, tive strategies (Crump 2010) exhibiting as many as 40 with reproduction in the genus Raorchestes characterized by A PROFILE different methods (Gururaja. Kraig Adler: 2010). A Lifetime ReproductivePromoting Herpetology modes ................................................................................................ are direct development. Ghate’s Michael L.Shrub Treglia Frog234 (Raorchestes ghatei) classified based on egg deposition sites, egg type, and patterns is a recently described species from the northern Western COMMENTARY of embryonic development (Wells 2007), but classification is Ghats (Padhye et al. 2013), currently known only from the . The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238 difficult and often arbitrary (Lehtinen and Nussbaum 2003). type locality and nearby areas (Fig. 1). Herein we describe Most anuran reproductionBOOK REVIEW involves aquatic larval stages, but the breeding biology and natural history of this little-known . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, direct development is notR. Berridge, uncommon P. Ramani, and (Stuart B.E. Young et .............................................................................................................. al. 2008). species. Robert Powell 243 Parental care increases offspring survivorship in species (Trivers 1972) and parentalCONSERVATION behaviors RESEARCH are highly REPORTS: responsive Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports .................................Methods 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 to changes in the environment NEWBRIEFS ............................................................................................................................... (Royle et al. 2014; Seshadri We observed .......................................................Raorchestes ghatei at 248 the type locality of and Bickford 2018). EDITORIAL Parental INFORMATION care is uncommon ............................................................................................................................... in frogs, Chalkewadi (17.59°N, 73.84°E;...................... elevation 251 1,082 m), Satara, Günther’s Bush Frog FOCUS (Raorchestes ON CONSERVATION chalazodes;: Rhacophoridae) A Project You Can Support ...............................................................................................Maharashtra, India in June to October 252 2013 with breed- is the only species in the genus in which parental care has ing during August. We used a Yamayo Digimatic Caliper been reported, with males attending eggs to protect them (Yamayo India, Mumbai, India) for morphometric measure- from conspecific males (Seshadri and Bickford 2018). ments to the nearest 0.1 mm; a PL83-S Mettler Portable Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo BalanceTotat et (Mettler-Toledo,velleseque audant mo Columbus, Ohio, USA) for weights estibus inveliquo velique rerchil toestibus the inveliquonearest velique 0.001 rerchil g; an Infrared Thermometer TES1326 erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum (TESaut dolor Electrical apicto invere pe Electronic dolum Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan, fugiatis maionsequat eumque ROC)fugiatis for maionsequat temperatures eumque of frogs, soil at egg-laying sites, and moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur watermoditia ererein thenonsedis adjacent ma sectia -stream to the nearest 0.01 °C; and a ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo. Mini Environmental Quality Meter 850070 (Sper Scientific, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA) for atmospheric temperatures and relative humidity. Results and Discussion Raorchestes ghatei occurs on plateaus, slopes with shrubby vegetation, and in densely forested areas as well as vegetation near human habitation. Peak activity of adults begins with the first rains in early June and continues through the rainy season into October. Males call from trees and bushes, usually beginning around 1800 h but sometimes earlier, and continuing past midnight and often throughout the night. However, some males will call during the day, especially dur- Fig. 1. The districts (green) of Maharashtra, India, where Ghate’s Shrub Frog (Raorchestes ghatei) is known to occur. ing light rain. Calling often ceases during heavy rainfall. From Copyright © 2020. Amit Sayyed. All rights reserved. 205 IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324 SAYYED AND PADHYE IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 26(3):205–210 • JAN 2020 Fig. 2. Territorial behavior of Ghate’s Shrub Frog (Raorchestes ghatei): Vocalization (A & B) and combat on the ground (C) and on the leaf of a tree (D). the first showers in June until August, males generally call found females guarding eggs under the stone where they from low perches close to the ground, where females occur in were laid. We never encountered this during heavy rains large numbers. Later in the season, males call from shrubs or and assume that their presence near eggs after the monsoon trees at heights of 3–5 m. Calling males are territorial, using is to keep the eggs moist with water or urine (Fig. 5A). If distinct territorial calls in addition to mating calls to define a disturbed, a female shows aggressive behavior by elevating territory. They also will resort to fighting to defend territo- her body toward the threat (Fig. 5B), clearly demonstrating ries (Fig. 2), occasionally throwing the loser from the elevated that females are protecting their fertilized eggs from potential perch. Males that lose vocal interactions or fights sometimes predators and also maintaining sufficient moisture to assure cease calling and remain silent within the territory of a dom- hatching in less than ideal conditions. In the absence of an inant male. attending female, we observed eggs parasitized by insects and Females were usually on the ground (Fig. 3A). When a subjected to fungal infections. female approached a bush with a male emitting the most fre- During this period, we collected and measured a few quent and loudest calls (Fig. 3B), she climbed the bush (Fig. individuals (Table 2). Females were larger than males. Snout- 3C), approached the male, who mounted her and engaged vent lengths (SVL) of adult males were 21.33–21.93 mm and in axillary amplexus (Fig. 3D). The amplecting pair then those of females 25.16–29.69 mm. Padhye et al. (2013) had descended to the ground and searched for stones (Fig. 3E), listed sizes of males as 19.1–25.5 mm and those of females beneath which eggs usually are laid. However, if a pair does as 15.4–29.8mm. Weights of males, including subadults, not find a suitable stone, ovideposition takes place in wet leaf were 0.763–1.089 g, whereas non-gravid adult females litter on the forest floor (Fig. 3F). weighed 1.124–1.128 g and gravid females 1.131–1.137 g. Clutch size is between 40 and 60 eggs (Fig. 4; Table The abdomens of non-gravid females measured 15.19–15.78 1). After ovideposition, the male climbs the original bush, mm, whereas those of gravid females measured 18.82–19.28 assumes the calling position, and starts calling. The female

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