Günther's frog
Adult in Sai Kung East Country Park, Hong Kong
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Sylvirana
Species:
S. guentheri
Binomial name
Sylvirana guentheri
(Boulenger, 1882)
Synonyms[2]

Rana elegans Boulenger, 1882
Rana guentheri Boulenger, 1882 Hylarana guentheri Boulenger, 1882 Limnodytes elegans (Rochebrune, 1884) Hylorana güntheri ( Deckert, 1938) Rana güntheri Yang, 2008 Boulengerana guentheri ( Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010)

Hylarana guentheri (Günther's frog) is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Rana. It is found in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Cambodia and Laos. An introduced population is found on Guam.[3][4] It can live as high as 1100 meters above sea level.[5] An alternate common name is Günther's Amoy frog, and the honorific is often spelled "Guenther's".

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, plantations, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.

Appearance

Günther's frog is a medium to large-sized frog that may grow up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in snout-vent length.[6] The hind legs are about one and a half times as long as the body. It has vomerine teeth and a large tongue. It has a fold of skin on each side of its body, running from the eye down to the hip. This frog has a brown or yellow-brown back and a white belly.[5]

Life cyle

The female frog lays eggs in rice fields and streams with still water. The tadpole is silver-white in color and has stripes running from its nose to its eye and a dark spot behind each eye.[5]

Chemicals

This frog produces (Val1)-bradykinin in its skin to deter predators. It also produces the antibiotics guentherin, brevinin-2GHa, brevinin-2GHb, brevinin-2GHc, and temporin-GH, which also appear on its skin.[5]

Danger to humans

Protoopalina pingi, a parasite of the rectum of Hylarana guentheri in China

Parasites of this frog include the opalinid Protoopalina pingi, in the rectum.[7]

This frog is also parasitized by Angiostrongylus cantonensis, or rat lungworm. In humans, this parasite causes the disease angiostrongyliasis[5] and causes meningitis.[8]

References

  1. ^ Lue Kuangyang; Chou Wenhao; Geng Baorong; Gu Huiqing; Shi Haitao; Peter Paul van Dijk & Nguyen Quang Truong (2009). "Hylarana guentheri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Sylvirana guentheri". AMNH Amphibian Species of the World.
  3. ^ Wostl, Elijah, Eric N. Smith, and Robert N. Reed. 2016. Origin and Identity of Fejervarya (Anura: Dicroglossidae) on Guam. Pacific Science 70(2):233-241. https://doi.org/10.2984/70.2.9
  4. ^ "Sylvirana guentheri (Boulenger, 1882)". Amphibian Species of the World 6.0, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Anna Chow; Michael Li (September 23, 2008). "Sylvirana guentheri". Amphibiaweb. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Lue, Kuang-Yang. "Hylarana guentheri". BiotaTaiwanica. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  7. ^ Li, W., Wang, C., Huang, F., Li, M., Nilsen, F., Liu, H. & Xu, J. 2014: Redescription of Protoopalina pingi Nie, 1935 inhabiting the recta of Hylarana guentheri and Pelophylax nigromaculatus in China. Parasite, 21, 46. doi:10.1051/parasite/2014021
  8. ^ "Parasites - Angiostrongyliasis (also known as Angiostrongylus Infection)". Centers for Disease Control. 6 January 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.

Media related to Hylarana guentheri at Wikimedia Commons


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