Assessment Results
Liurana medogensis
Medog Pailla-tongued Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Ceratobatrachidae
Synonym(s):
Ingerana medogensis, Leptopelis medogensis, Limnonectes medogensis
Assessed for:
India
on:
13 Oct 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi, Annemarie Ohler and Jayanta Roy
IUCN Global Red List:
Data Deficient (DD)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
China, India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
23
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Data Deficient (DD) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value 20 - 50 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | Yes / probably | This species was previously known only from Xigong Lake, Medog County in Xizang Autonomous Region, China. It is likely to be a restricted range species though may occur a little more widely (F. Xie pers. comm. 2019). It has also been recorded from Dibang Valley, Lower Dibang Valley and Lohit district (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020) and from Basar, about 150 km southwest of Medog, the collecting place of 1997, Pange is more than 100 km west of Basar in the Himalayan slopes (Borah et al. 2013), both in Arunachal Pradesh. It has been found in Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020). It is likely to be a restricted range species (Annemarie Ohler, pers. comm. October 2020). It has been recorded from 399-2,448m asl (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Yes / probably | |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | Yes / probably | It has been found in Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in India (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | Yes / probably | Expansion of effective forest preservation and continued management of existing protected areas is essential for the conservation of this species. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | More information is needed on this species' distribution and population status (F. Xie pers. comm. 2019), as well as on its general ecology and threats. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | This species is not thought to have any substantial threats (F. Xie pers. comm. 2019). There may be some pressure from disturbance from hikers (F. Xie. pers. comm. 2019). If it occurs more widely outside protected areas, its habitat could be affected by human activities in these places. It is unlikely to tolerate habitat disturbance (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020). There are no major threats to this species in India (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020) although deforestation has occurred in some parts of its distribution (Annemarie Ohler, pers. comm. October 2020). In India at the Pange locality there has been disturbance of the forest for logging. At Dibang Valley it is not considered to be threatened (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Unknown | In India it is considered rare (Annemarie Ohler, pers. comm. October 2020), however at times it can be common, as it is often heard calling (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | Unknown | |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | No | |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Yes / probably | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi, Annemarie Ohler and Jayanta Roy 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Liurana medogensis, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5504
Accessed 18 May 2024
