DANCING
FROGS - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Dancing frogs of Western
Ghats among most threatened amphibians globally
What's
in the news?
●
Scientists have discovered 14 new species
of so-called dancing frogs in the jungle mountains of southern India, just in
time to witness their extinction, they fear.
Key
takeaways:
●
Biologists say they discovered the tiny
acrobatic amphibians, named after the unusual kicks they use to attract mates,
declining dramatically in number over the course of 12 years.
Habitat:
●
They’re found exclusively in the Western Ghats, a lush mountain range that
stretches 1,600kilometers (990 miles) from the western state of Maharashtra
down to the country’s southern tip.
●
The species was found to prefer habitats in areas with thick canopy
cover of at least 70-80 percent.
Features:
●
They breed after the yearly monsoon in
fast-rushing streams, but their habitat appears to be becoming increasingly
dry.
●
Only
the males dance – it’s actually a unique breeding behaviour
called foot-flagging.
●
The bigger the frog, the more they dance.
●
They also use those leg extensions to
smack away other males – an important feature considering the sex ratio for the
amphibians is usually around 100 males to one female.