Alcalus

Alcalus
Alcalus tasanae from Thailand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Subfamily: Alcalinae
Brown [fr], Siler, Richards [fr], Diesmos [fr], and Cannatella [fr], 2015[1]
Genus: Alcalus
Brown, Siler, Richards, Diesmos, and Cannatella, 2015[1]
Type species
Micrixalus mariae
Inger, 1954
Species

5 species (see text)

Alcalus is a small group of frogs in the family Ceratobatrachidae.[2][3] It is the only member of the subfamily Alcalinae. Its sister taxon is Ceratobatrachinae. That means that the frogs are related to each other.[4] In English, some people call them Alcala's dwarf mountain frogs. They live in Palawan Island (the Philippines), Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula.[2] They prefer semi-aquatic microhabitats.[1]

Name

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Scientists named this genus after Angel Alcala, a Filipino biologist who worked with Southeast Asian amphibians.[1]

Description

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Compared to the closely related genera Cornufer and Platymantis, Alcalus are medium-sized. In Alcalus baluensis and A. mariae, male frogs are 20–37 mm (0.79–1.46 in) long from nose to rear end and females 26–43 mm (1.0–1.7 in). The head is wided. Skin is coarse, shagreened, or wrinkled in appearance. These frogs have disks on their toes for climbing, and they are very wide. These frogs have webbed skin between their toes . Male frogs have nuptial pads but no vocal sacs.[1]

Species

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There are five species:[2][3]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Brown, Rafe M.; Siler, Cameron D.; Richards, Stephen J.; Diesmos, Arvin C. & Cannatella, David C. (2015). "Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for Southeast Asian and Melanesian forest frogs (family Ceratobatrachidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 174 (1): 130–168. doi:10.1111/zoj.12232.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Alcalus Brown, Siler, Richards, Diesmos, and Cannatella, 2015". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ceratobatrachidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Alcalinae Brown, Siler, Richards, Diesmos, and Cannatella, 2015". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 21 June 2020.