English: Mihintale Red Narrow-mouthed Frog Sinhala: මිහින්තලය රතු මුව පටු මැඩියා [Mihinthalaya rathu muwa-patu madiya]
Binomial: Microhyla mihintalei
Mihintale Red Narrow-mouthed Frog(Microhyla mihintalei) is an endemic frog and it was described recently (2016) with the help of specimens collected from dry zone of Sri Lanka including Mihinthale. The species was named after Mihintale which is one of the world’s earliest documented sanctuaries. It is also known as the place where King Dewanampiya Tissa met Mihindu thero who came from India in 246 BC.
But the ancestors of Microhyla mihintalei have found their way to Sri Lankan lowlands from India few million years ago via the land bridge created between Sri Lanka and India which was caused by earlier ice ages followed by excessive ice deposits in poles. But later, rise in the sea level caused land mass between India and Sri Lanka to disappear by creating an oceanic barrier and that resulted closing the land connection between two lands.
In India, Still lives a frog named Microhyla rubra, who is considered to be a descendent of the common ancestor of Microhyla mihintalei. As a result of thousands of years of separation due to the oceanic barrier between two land masses, Sri Lankan population of this common frog has been evolved as the new species we call, Microhyla mihintalei.
Studies have suggested significant genetic distance, morphology and differences in vocalization to distinguish Microhyla mihintalei from its common Indian ancestral species, Microhyla rubra.
But the ancestors of Microhyla mihintalei have found their way to Sri Lankan lowlands from India few million years ago via the land bridge created between Sri Lanka and India which was caused by earlier ice ages followed by excessive ice deposits in poles. But later, rise in the sea level caused land mass between India and Sri Lanka to disappear by creating an oceanic barrier and that resulted closing the land connection between two lands.
In India, Still lives a frog named Microhyla rubra, who is considered to be a descendent of the common ancestor of Microhyla mihintalei. As a result of thousands of years of separation due to the oceanic barrier between two land masses, Sri Lankan population of this common frog has been evolved as the new species we call, Microhyla mihintalei.
Studies have suggested significant genetic distance, morphology and differences in vocalization to distinguish Microhyla mihintalei from its common Indian ancestral species, Microhyla rubra.
Reference:
Meegaskumbura, Madhava; Biju, S. D.; Karunarathna, Nuwan; Senevirathne, Gayani; Garg, Sonali; Wijayathilaka, Nayana (2016). "A new species of Microhyla (Anura: Microhylidae) from Sri Lanka: an integrative taxonomic approach". Zootaxa. 4066 (3): 331–342. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4066.3.9
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