Assessment Results
Raorchestes sanctisilvaticus
Sacred Grove Bush Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Rhacophoridae
Synonym(s):
Raorchestes terebrans, Philautus sanctisilvaticus, Pseudophilautus terebrans, Philautus similipalensis, Philautus sanctisilvaticus
Assessed for:
India
on:
27 Aug 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Dr Anand Padhy, Chelmala Srinivasulu, S.R. Ganesh, Harshil Patel, Gururaja K.V., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Dandekar, Prudhvi Raj Gunturu, Seshadri K.S., Shauri Sulakhe and S.R. Chandramouli
IUCN Global Red List:
Critically Endangered (CR)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
18.39846223
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.] | Critically Endangered (CR) | |
| 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 | |
| 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? | No / unlikely | This species is known only from the type locality: "Kapildhara Falls, Amarkantak (23° 10'N; 81° 70'E), ca. 190km southeast of Jabalpur City, Shahdol, Jabalpur District, Madhya Pradesh, central India." The type locality is a sacred grove, which is relatively small and does not guarantee protection. It also occurs in Peddavalasa in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (Das and Chanda 1998), and Gurguria in Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa State (Dutta 2003). This taxon is widespread across the northern Eastern Ghats and Deccan Peninsula from Orissa and eastern Madhya Pradesh south (Frost 2020). It is also found in the Srisailam Tiger Reserve and Papikonda National Park (Prudhvi Raj pers. comm. August 2020), and is also present in the Kothagudem-Bhadradri district, Telangana State (Chelmala Srinivasulu pers. comm. August 2020). It ranges between 100 and 1,300 m asl (Prudhvi Raj pers. comm. August 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 | The type locality is a sacred grove, which is relatively small and does not guarantee protection. It is present in a number of protected areas, including Similipal Biosphere Reserve (Dutta 2003). |
| 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 | Improved protection and maintenance of the remaining habitat is needed (India RLA/CNA workshop, 2020). |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Survey work is needed to determine the species' current population status, and research on distribution population, ecology and the effects of coffee plantations and slash and burn on population trends is required (India RLA/CNA workshop, 2020). |
| 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 | It has been found in well-shaded coffee plantations (India RLA/CNA workshop, 2020). The main threat is believed to be the loss of suitable habitat due to harvesting of wood for subsistence purposes, infrastructure development for tourism, and fires. Additional threts include slash and burn agriculture, bauxite mining and the use of pesticides in both large and small-scale coffee plantations (India RLA/CNA workshop, 2020). The impact of the Polavaram Dam is also a threat to this species(Chelmala Srinivasulu pers. comm. August 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? | Yes / probably | This species is common in much of the habitat where it is found (India RLA/CNA workshop, 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? | No / unlikely | |
| 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:
Dr Anand Padhy, Chelmala Srinivasulu, S.R. Ganesh, Harshil Patel, Gururaja K.V., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Dandekar, Prudhvi Raj Gunturu, Seshadri K.S., Shauri Sulakhe and S.R. Chandramouli 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Raorchestes sanctisilvaticus, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5695
Accessed 16 May 2024
