Karyological Studies on 5 Anuran Species (Rhacophoridae, Microhylidae) from the Western Ghats, Southwest India

Abstract

Karyotypes of 5 species of Indian frogs belonging to 2 families Rhacophoridae (Polypedates maculatus, Rhacophorus malabaricus, and Pseudophilautus wynaadensis) and Microhylidae (Ramanella montana and Microhyla ornata) were described. All of the 5 species had 2n=26 bi-armed chromosomes with 5 large and 8 small pairs. In Rhacophorus malabaricus, 3 large chromosome pairs (nos. 2–4) possessed telomeric C-positive bands on the long arm, whereas C-positive bands were confined to the centromeric region of the chromosomes in the other 4 species. None of the species had identifiable heteromorphic sex chromosomes. Based on karyometric data and C-banding, the karyotype of each species was characterized and was compared with those of the related species. It became evident that the Indian species of the genus Microhyla differ karyologically from the congeners in southeastern Asia.