Hoplobatrachus tigerinus

Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, the Indus Valley bullfrog or Indian bullfrog, popular name Asian bullfrog, Asean bullfrog or Asia bullfrog, is a large species of frog found in mainland Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal.[1] It has been introduced in Madagascar[2] and India's Andaman Islands,[3] where it is now a widespread invasive species.[4]

Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
Indian bullfrog from the Western Ghats
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Dicroglossidae
Genus: Hoplobatrachus
Species:
H. tigerinus
Binomial name
Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
(Daudin, 1803)
Synonyms

Rana tigerina
Rana tigrina

Description
H. tigerinus from Bengaluru

They are found in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. They are also found in the Maldives and Madagascar.

They prefer freshwater wetlands and aquatic habitats. Generally they avoid coastal and forest areas.

Rana tigrina is mostly solitary and nocturnal in nature. They inhabit holes and bushes near permanent water sources. The frog does not stay in water for a long time; it spends most of its time hiding and feeding in surrounding vegetation.

They feed on various type of insects, invertebrates, mice, shrews, young frogs, earthworms, roundworms, juvenile snakes, and small birds.

Vomerine teeth in two strong oblique series commence from the inner anterior angle of the choanae; lower jaw with two not very prominent bony processes in front. Head moderate; Snout more or less pointed; canthus rostralis obtuse; nostril a little nearer to the end of the mouth than to the eye; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid; tympanum distinct, about two thirds the size of the eye. Fingers rather short, first extending beyond second; toes moderate, obtuse, nearly entirely webbed ; a much developed membranaceous fringe along the fifth toe; sub-articular tubercles moderate; inner metatarsal tubercle very variable, small and blunt, or (var. ceylanica, Ceylon and S. India) nearly as long as the inner toe, strongly compressed, crescent shaped, shovel-shaped; no outer tubercle, a tarsal fold. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the ear, the eye, or a little beyond. Skin of back with longitudinal folds; a strong fold above the tympanum. Green or olive above, with dark spots; often a light vertebral line. Male with two subgular vocal sacs, conspicuous externally by folds of the skin on the sides of the throat; these regions generally blackish.[5]

It is semiaquatic, and is said, to jump over the surface of the water much in the same way as on land when frightened.[5]

This large frog can reach a snout to vent length of 170mm.

This species is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN red list.[1]

Cultivation
H. Tigerinus from Kothligad, Maharashtra

Captive farming of this species as a food source, and also of the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), started in Thailand in the 1990s.[6] China imposed a ban, for exporting legs of Rana tigerina.[7] Largest frogs' exportation include, three major countries: India, Bangladesh and Indonesia.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. Padhye, A.; Manamendra-Arachchi, K.; de Silva, A.; Dutta, S.; Kumar Shrestha, T.; Bordoloi, S.; Papenfuss, T.; Anderson, S.; Kuzmin, S.; Khan, M.S. & Nussbaum, R. (2008). "Hoplobatrachus tigerinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T58301A11760496. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T58301A11760496.en.
  2. Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (2007). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (3rd ed.). Köln, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlags GbR. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-3-929449-03-7.
  3. "Combining citizen science and field research to deal with the bullfrog invasion of the Andamans". india.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  4. Rao, Mohit M. (11 August 2018). "Invasive species, lurking in the Andamans; The Indian bull frog". www.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  5. Boulenger, G. A. (1890). Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.
  6. Flores Nava, A. (2005). "Rana catesbeiana". Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  7. Fugler, Charles M. (April 1985). "Proposed management of the Indian bull frog, Rana tigrina, exclusive to Bangladesh". Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). 1: 40 – via Food and Agricultural Organisation.
  8. Banerjie, Indranil (31 March 1986). "Frog leg exports: Cold feet". India Today. Retrieved 18 December 2018.

Further reading
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