Sexual dimorphism in the Kudremukh Bush Frog (Anura: Rhacophoridae: Raorchestes tuberohumerus) of the Western Ghats, India, with a note on its distribution and conservation status

Abstract

Raorchestes tuberohumerus (Kuramoto & Joshy, 2003) was described based on three male specimens and was diagnosed mainly based on the presence of tubercle on the humerus. Here we describe the genetically confirmed female of the species and show that tubercle on the humeral bone is a sexually dimorphic character present only in males. Further, based on current collection and literature review we studied the distribution of the species using niche based modelling. Using the distributional range and our observations on the threats to the habitat we propose that Raorchestes tuberohumerus, currently assessed as Data Deficient, can fall under the ‘Vulnerable’ category of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Â