Biology:Blaira

From HandWiki
Short description: Genus of amphibians

Blaira
Ghatophryne ornata or Malabar Torrent Toad.jpg
Blaira ornata
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Blaira
Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021
Type species
Ansonia ornata
Günther, "1876" 1875
Diversity
2 species (see text)
Synonyms

Ghatophryne

Blaira is a small genus of true toads endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India.[1] The genus was erected in 2021 as a valid substitute name for Ghatophryne which was created in 2009 for Ansonia ornata which was found to be distinct enough to warrant its own genus. This was however considered an invalid description as it was published in an only a digital medium (before 2012, the ICZN rules were subsequently modified); Ansonia rubigina was moved based on its morphological similarity and distribution.[2]

Description

Blaira are small-sized toads with adult males measuring up to 30 mm (1.2 in) and females up to 35 mm (1.4 in) in snout–vent length. The dorsum is reddish brown; ventrum is dark brownish black with prominent yellowish-orange spots. They do not possess parotoid glands. Fingers are free of webbing whereas the toes are medium webbed. Skin on dorsum has sparsely granular projections, especially on anterior half of the body. Eggs are non-pigmented. Tadpoles have a suctorial disk, an adaptation to mountain streams.[2]

Species

This small genus has two species at present:[1][3]

  • Blaira ornata (Günther, 1876) — ornate toad, Malabar torrent toad, or black torrent toad
  • Blaira rubigina (Pillai and Pattabiraman, 1981) — Kerala stream toad, Silent Valley torrent toad, or red torrent toad

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Ghatophryne Biju, Van Bocxlaer, Giri, Loader, and Bossuyt, 2009". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Ghatophryne. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Biju, S.D.; Van Bocxlaer, Ines; Giri, Varad B.; Loader, Simon P.; Bossuyt, Franky (2009). "Two new endemic genera and a new species of toad (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Western Ghats of India". BMC Research Notes 2: 241. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-2-241. PMID 19968866. 
  3. "Bufonidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2014. http://www.amphibiaweb.org/lists/Bufonidae.shtml. 

Wikidata ☰ Q3104797 entry