Gallery

Dancing frogs of the Western Ghats exhibit spectacular foot flagging behaviour to maintain their territory. Read Doris et al 2013 Click here
In this video clip, Kottigehara dancing frog does a foot flagging along with advertisement calls. This is one among 24 species of dancing frogs known from the Western Ghats.

During amplexus, female carries male on her back and moves to shallow part of streams. Here she puts enormous energy and power to make a cavity in the stream-bed using her hindlimbs.

After release eggs inside the cavity, female dances over egg clutch and covers them with pebbles and small stones. To know more about this behaviour, read: Gururaja KV. 2010. Novel reproductive mode in a torrent frog Micrixalus saxicola (Jerdon) from the Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 2642:45-52.

Courtship behaviour in Kumbara Night Frog:
After initial contact with female, male keeps calling. Female stands on hind limb and touch branches where oviposition occurs. She also positions herself for axillary amplexus.

Amplexus and Oviposition in Kumbara Night Frog:
In an axillary amplexus position, few minutes prior to oviposition both male and female stands on their hindlimb. At the time of oviposition, female makes a hand stand along with male. Male gets separated from female in a fraction of second before ovipositioin and watches oviposition.

Mudcovering of eggs in Kumbara Night Frog:
After the oviposition, male moves to oviposition site and covers egg clutch with mud from stream.