Walkerana phrynoderma (Boulenger, 1882)

Open encyclopedia reference

Walkerana phrynoderma is a species of frog endemic to the Anaimalai Hills, of the Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu states in southern India. This species is known from Munnar, Eravikulam National Park, Valparai tea gardens, Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Grass Hills National Park and Palni Hills. It is a very rare terrestrial frog species associated with leaf-litter in tropical moist forest. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by subsistence wood collecting. It has the status of one of the "Top 100 Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered Amphibians". This frog has been observed in the Anamalai Hills and nearby parts of the Cardamom Hills. It is nocturnal and terrestrial. It has been found in forests and grasslands near streams between 1200 and 1900 meters above sea level. This frog's tadpoles do not live in the water. Instead, they move across wet rocks and moss using their tails and their back legs, which grow in at a younger age than those of other tadpoles. The IUCN classifies this frog as endangered because of its limited range.

Wikipedia contributors, Walkerana phrynoderma; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:54:45.813830+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Walkerana phrynoderma (Boulenger, 1882)

Name authority

(Boulenger, 1882)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Ranixalidae

Genus

Walkerana

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderAnura
10. familyRanixalidae Dubois, 1987
11. genusWalkerana Dahanukar, Modak, Krutha, Nameer, Padhye & Molur, 2016
12. speciesWalkerana phrynoderma (Boulenger, 1882)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Walkerana. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 18 records assigned to Ranixalidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1101036 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:5BTY9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.