Pseudophilautus poppiae

Pseudophilautus poppiae, also known as Poppy's shrub frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.Scientists have seen it between 1060 and 1270 meters above sea level.[2][3][4]

Pseudophilautus poppiae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Pseudophilautus
Species:
P. poppiae
Binomial name
Pseudophilautus poppiae
(Meegaskumbura & Manamendra-Arachchi, 2005)
Synonyms

Philautus poppiae Meegaskumbura & Manamendra-Arachchi, 2005

The adult male frog measures 21.3 – 24.7 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog about 26.0 mm long. The top and sides of the head are bright, luminous green in color. Some of these frogs have red spots on their backs, but most have black spots. The flanks are yellow in color. The middle of the body and the tops of the hind legs are yellow-brown in color. Parts of the mouth are yellow or white in color. The tops of the front legs are yellow green-yellow in color. There are white stripes on the outer edges of the front legs. The inner sides of the front legs are yellow. The belly is yellow.[3]

This frog is strictly arboreal. It lives in cloud forests where the tree branches form a closed canopy. It lives in the lower branches and in shrubs. People have seen the male frogs sitting on plants 1-3 m above the ground. This frog can also live in lightly planted cardamom plots.[3]

Scientists named this frog for Poppy Valentina Meyer because both her parents supported the Global Amphibian Assessment.[3]

Like other frogs in Pseudophilautus, P. poppiae undergoes direct development, hatching as a froglet with no free-swimming tadpole stage.[3]

It is threatened by habitat loss. Scientists cite urbanization, grazing, and logging.[3]

Original description

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  • Meegaskumbura M; Manamendra-Arachchi K (2005). "Description of eight new species of shrub frogs (Ranidae: Rhacophorinae: Philautus) from Sri Lanka". Raffles Bull Zool Suppl. 12: 305–338.

References

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  1. ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Pseudophilautus poppiae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T61887A156588228. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T61887A156588228.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ Frost, Darrel R. "Pseudophilautus poppiae (Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda, 2005)". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Dayupathi Eranda Nipunika Mandawala (July 31, 2021). Michelle S. Koo (ed.). "Pseudophilautus poppiae (Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda, 2005)". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  4. ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Pseudophilautus poppiae". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. p. e.T61887A156588228. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T61887A156588228.en. 61887. Retrieved November 30, 2023.