Investigating the Natural History: Breeding Behaviors and Developmental Stages of the Nepal Cricket Frog Minervarya nepalensis (Dubois, 1975) in Meghalaya, Northeast India

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-533-1_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Conservation; Ecology; Minervarya nepalensis ; Mawsynram

Abstract

This study, conducted in Meghalaya, Northeast India, examines the breeding behavior and developmental stages of Minervarya nepalensis, a dicroglossid frog native to northern India and Nepal. Breeding activity coincides with the onset of the monsoon, characterized by male advertisement calls, mate competition, and courtship interactions. Notably, after mating, amplecting pairs were observed briefly leaving the water prior to oviposition, while in some cases, females engaged in amplexus without depositing eggs. Developmental analysis identified 37 distinct stages of M. nepalensis, systematically grouped into 11 major developmental terms, consisting of fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, neurulation, tail bud formation, external gill stages, operculum and oral disc stages, hind limb bud formation, toe differentiation, well-developed hind limb stages, and metamorphosis. Each stage presented characteristic morphological and physiological changes, allowing accurate monitoring of growth and transformation. This represents the first comprehensive account of the species’ reproductive ecology and developmental biology, enriching existing databases and offering key insights into amphibian life history strategies and adaptations to environmental changes.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - P. Wankitlang Shangpliang
AU  - Rupa Nylla K. Hooroo
AU  - Lamang Kyrpang Mawthoh
AU  - Annu Kumari
AU  - Graham Bakynson Ranee
AU  - Mebari Vanessa R. Dorphang
AU  - Eugene Lyngkhoi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
TI  - Investigating the Natural History: Breeding Behaviors and Developmental Stages of the Nepal Cricket Frog Minervarya nepalensis (Dubois, 1975) in Meghalaya, Northeast India
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Systems and Social Management (ICSSSM-2 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 78
EP  - 116
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-533-1_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-533-1_8
ID  - Shangpliang2025
ER  -