Hoplobatrachus tigerinus

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iIndian Bullfrog
Indian Bullfrog from the Western Ghats
Indian Bullfrog from the Western Ghats
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Hoplobatrachus
Species: H. tigerinus
Binomial name
Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
Synonyms

Rana tigerina
Rana tigrina

The Indian Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus) is a large species of frog found in South and Southeast Asia.

[edit] Description

The following description is from Boulenger.

Indian Bullfrog from Bangalore
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Indian Bullfrog from Bangalore

Vomerine teeth in two strong oblique series commencing 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, crescentic, 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.[1]

From snout to vent 6.5 inches.

[edit] Distribtion

Found all over the Indian Subcontinent and Ceylon to the Indus and the base of the Himalayas, and from China to the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.[1]

The largest Indian Frog. It is essentially aquatic, and is said, when frightened, to jump over the surface of the water much in the same way as on land.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.