Hylarana tytleri Theobald, 1868

Deuti, Kaushik, Ray, Sukumar, Bag, Probhat & Dey, Swapan Kumar, 2017, Amphibians of the Duars area of Northern West Bengal, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (3), pp. 221-241 : 233-234

16. Hylarana tytleri Theobald, 1868

1838. Hylorana tytleri Theobald, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal , 37 suppl: 7-88 + iii pp, 4 pl.

Common Name: Reed Frog (English). Size: 40-55 mm (snout-vent length).

Distinguishing features: Medium-sized frog with smooth skin and long legs. Body is elongated. The snout is pointed and projects beyond the mouth. The nostril is nearer to Specimensexamined :1ex:A12451fromMendabari, Chilapata forest , Jalpaiguri district , West Bengal (26°36’687”N, 89°23’996”E) collected on 10.vi.2014. The measurements of the frog collected are given below in millimeters :

Size: 35-45 mm (snout-vent length).

Distinguishing features: A small to medium-sized semi-aquatic frog with smooth skin, long legs with digital disks

(26°36’687”N, 89°23’996”E) collected on 14.viii.2015 and A 12589 from Jalpaiguri town, Jalpaiguri district , West Bengal collected by S.P. Pandey on 29.viii.2015. The measurements of the frog collected are given below in millimeters :

on the fingers and toes without circum-marginal groove. Body is elongated and torpedo-shaped. The snout is pointed. The nostril is nearer to the snout tip than the eye. The ear-drum is quite large as big as the diameter of the eye. No supra-tympanic fold but two dorso-lateral folds run from above the eyes on both side of the body up to the groin. Fingers and toes are slender and elongated. Fingers without webbing but toes partly webbed. Tips of fingers and toes with rounded disks.

Colour: Dorsum light green with two golden-yellow bands on each side of the body. The upper one running from above the eye on up to the groin. The lower one from the upper lip to below the ear-drum up to the belly. The area in between the two bands is chocolate-brown. The eyes are black with the upper portion golden-yellow. The ear-drum is flesh-coloured. The ventrum is white.

Habitat: Floating weeds inside wetlands are its preferred habitat. Also seen on emergent reed beds and vegetation on the banks of the wetlands.

Remarks: Rare in the duars area of northern West Bengal. The little frog nicely camouflages among the green weeds and reed stems in the wetlands. The breeding season is throughout the monsoons when it emits a chirping call.