Indian bullfrog | Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Daudin, (1803)
Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, commonly known as Indian
Bullfrog is a largest species of frog found in Indian, Myanmar, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It is also known by other popular
names viz., Asian bullfrog and Indus valley bullfrog. The species is being also
introduced in Maldives, Madagascar and India’s Andaman Islands where it is currently
considered a pervasive species.
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| Hoplobatrachus tigerinus |
Indian Bullfrogs prefers inhabiting areas such as freshwater
bogs, lakes, streams and avoid coastal and forest areas more often depending on
the topography of the zone. This species of frog mostly is nocturnal and solitary
in nature. In its territory it inhabits holes and shrubbery near water sources.
Hoplobatrachus tigerinus do not reside in water for a long duration as it
spends the majority of its time hiding and feeding underneath vegetation. It is
consider being the top predator within frogs as it can have anything lesser its
size. They feed on a variety of organism such as insects, mice, young frogs, small
invertebrates, shrews, roundworms, juvenile snakes, earthworms, and even small
birds.
Scientific
classification
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Kingdom:
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Animalia
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Phylum:
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Chordata
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Class:
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Amphibia
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Order:
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Anura
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Family:
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Dicroglossidae
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Genus:
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Hoplobatrachus
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Species:
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tigerinus
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Binomial name
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Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (Daudin, 1803)
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Conservation status
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Least Concern (IUCN
3.1)
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There
are vomerine teeth in two strong oblique series starting from the inner
anterior angle of the choanae; inferior jaw having two but not very prominent
bony processes in the front. Head is moderate; snout more or less sharp; canthus
rostralis obtuse; nostrils are little closer to the end of the mouth than
to the eye; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid; tympanum
distinct & about two third the size of the eye.
Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
Fingers rather short, first extending past second;
toes are moderate, nearly entirely webbed & obtuse; a significantly
developed membranaceous fringe alongside the fifth toe; sub-articular tubercles
moderate; interior metatarsal tubercle are variable, small and blunt, almost as
long as the inner toe, crescent shaped, strongly compressed & shovel-shaped;
absence of outer tubercle, a tarsal fold. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the
ear, the eye, or a little further than. Back having longitudinal folds; a muscular
fold present above the tympanum. Dorsally green or olive coloured having dark
spots with a light vertebral line often. Males having two subgular vocal sacs
laterally underside, prominent externally by folds of the skin on both sides of
throat and are generally blackish in color.
The species is basically aquatic, is known to jump
over the water surface as at on land when terrified. The adults are 17.51 cm
long from snout to vent. It is categorized as Least concern (LC) by IUCN red
list. Hoplobatrachus tigerinus farming was done as a food
source in Thailand during 1990’s, whereas country such as china banned
exporting of the species. Exportation beside anthropogenic actives (loss of
habitat) is among main threat observed on the species.
During the mating or monsoon season these frogs’
changes drastically morphological to impress their counterparts as they change
their colours. It’s not precisely clear how they do it but it’s assumed that
the brighter the colour, the more attractive the male and more are the chances
to mate.
Literature Cited:
Flores,
N.A. (2005). "Rana catesbeiana". Cultured Aquatic Species
Information Programme. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department retrieved 13
December 2019.
Glaw,
F. and Vences, M. 2007. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of
Madagascar (3rd ed.,). Köln, Germany, In: Vences & Glaw Verlags GbR
(editors). pp. 118–119.
Hoplobatrachus
tigerinus at Iucnredlist
retrieved on 24 December 2019.
Hoplobatrachus_tigerinus
at Wikipedia
retrieved on 24 December 2019.
Indian
Bullfrog at Savethefrogs
retrieved on 24 December 2019.
Kotwal,
A., Raina, R. and Wanganeo, A. 2018. Status and diversity of anurans (Anuran:
Frogs and Toads) in Barkatullah University Campus, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,
Central India. International Journal of Advanced Science and Research, 3(1):
87-89
Manhas,
A., Kotwal, A., Wanganeo, R.R. and Wanganeo, A. 2015. Diversity, Threats and
Conservation of Herpetofauna in and around Barkatullah University, Bhopal (MP),
India. Int. J. Adv. Res. 3: 1546-1553.
Padhye,
A., Manamendra, A.K.., De Silva, A., Dutta, S., Kumar, S.T.; Bordoloi, S.,
Papenfuss, T., Anderson, S., Kuzmin, S., Khan, M.S. and Nussbaum, R. 2008. "Hoplobatrachus
tigerinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN.
Retrieved 24 December 2019.
Rao,
Mohit M. 2018. "Invasive species, lurking in the Andamans; The Indian
bull frog". www.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on
18 December 2018 and Retrieved 2019.
