Sooglossidae

Seychellenfrösche ( Sooglossidae ) form a small family of frogs and toads ( Anura ). They come with only four species endemic to the archipelago of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar, where they colonize only the two islands of Mahé ( 150 km ²) and Silhouette ( almost 20 km ²).

Survey

It is very small (maximum 4.5 -centimeter-long ) Anura, which act either slender and graceful like a frog or toad -like and rather thick. The kind of " Gardineris Seychellenfrosch " ( Sechellophryne gardineri; Syn Sooglossus gardineri ) counts with approximately 1.1 cm snout-vent length to even the smallest anurans in the world (see for example, saddle toads and frogs Monte Iberia ). The ends of the limbs are disc-shaped widened, polka dots here. The mating call of the male consist of relatively complex, high-frequency tone sequences. Notwithstanding the other representatives of the "modern Anura " ( Neobatrachia ) takes the Amplexus the Seychellenfrösche not axillary, but as with the Archaeobatrachia and Mesobatrachia in the lumbar region of the females instead.

As habitats are the types always moist forests on the mountain slopes of the two above-mentioned islands, where they are either on the ground between leaf litter and decaying plant debris, on rocks near streams or in axils of certain palm trees. The deposits are located mostly at altitudes between 240 and about 1000 meters above sea level. The animals have adapted to a terrestrial life. This also means that the gelatinous eggs are not stored in a body of water, but on land, where they are guarded by the male. The hatching tadpoles ( about ten to fifteen pieces per clutch ) crawling on the back of the Father; there they hold on tight - probably aided by skin secretions of the male. Until its metamorphosis to lung -breathing, four-legged frogs persevere so over a number of weeks without taking food. They live off alone from the embryonic yolk in the eggs. Gas exchange occurs across the skin to breathe, with probably the tail with its large skin surface plays an important role.

Taxonomy

Having formerly a subfamily Sooglossinae to the genuine frogs ( Ranidae ) has been made, a separate family Sooglossidae is now formed with two genera and four species, one species has been redescribed recently. The next extant relative is valid in India newly discovered until the year 2003 Type Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, which points to the legislative history of the Seychelles: Until the Mesozoic, the Indian subcontinent and Madagascar still formed a contiguous land area, among others, Africa (see: Gondwana ). In this phase, the Seychelles were still a part of the respective continental mass. Some authors assign Nasikabatrachus directly into the Sooglossidae family; However, this is controversial and is partially doubted.

• Genus Sechellophryne Nussbaum & Wu, 2007 Type Sechellophryne gardineri ( Boulenger, 1911)
• Type Sechellophryne pipilodryas ( Gerlach & Willi, 2003)

• Type Sooglossus thomasseti ( Boulenger, 1909)

Endangering

Because of the extremely isolated and very small-scale occurrences of the Seychellenfrösche are considered potentially highly endangered species. After all IUCN species as VU ( vulnerable ) classified.

Other amphibian fauna of the Seychelles

Besides the family Sooglossidae three other amphibian families with a total of eight species in the Seychelles before: Four members of the genus Sonia Grandi (G. alternans, G. brevis, G. larvata, G. sechellensis ) and one of Hypogeophis (H. rostratus ) and Praslinia ( P. cooperi, all caecilians of Caeciliidae family ), plus one each Froschlurchart the genus Tachycnemis ( T. seychellensis; family Hyperoliidae ) and the genus Ptychedena ( P. mascareniensis; family Ranidae ).