Jaladhara Skittering Frog

Fascinating facts about the Jaladhara Skittering Frog

• In 2022, a team led by K. P. Dinesh officially added Euphlyctis jaladhara to science.
• The frog’s name comes from the Sanskrit jaladhārā, meaning “stream of water,” a nod to its habit of living beside the very streams that inspired its label; the link reminds us how language can capture an animal’s ecology.
• Male Jaladhara skittering frogs measure 33.7–37.8 mm SVL, while females range from 40.8 to 62.1 mm SVL.
• Its olive-green back often bears darker marks, and its broad head with prominent eyes are suited for an aquatic lifestyle.
• Researchers distinguished E. jaladhara by pairing detailed body measurements with DNA analysis.

At a glance

About the Jaladhara Skittering Frog

The Jaladhara Skittering Frog (Euphlyctis jaladhara) is a diminutive amphibian that epitomises the sleek, aquatic elegance of the Dicroglossidae family. Its broad head crowns a compact body cloaked in olive-green dorsal skin, often accented by darker mottling that camouflages it among the rippling reeds of Kerala’s streams. The ventral surface is a paler hue, while its prominent eyes sit atop a head built for swift, directional swims. Males measure between 33.7 mm and 37.8 mm in snout-vent length, whereas females range from 40.8 mm to 62.1 mm, a size dimorphism that hints at differing reproductive roles. Adapted for a life in water, the frog’s hind limbs are muscular and its feet webbed, allowing it to skitter across the surface with bursts of powerful jumps. It dwells in the freshwater habitats of the western coastal plains of peninsular India, frequenting the banks of streams and the shallow pools of the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, where it blends into the mosaic of moss and submerged leaf litter.

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