"Amphibians"    18 September 2004

Susan  Welcome to IWC chat on "Amphibians" 

Karthik  hello susan

Susan  Hi Karthik

Karthik  shall we wait for some more people...? 

Karthik  or else we can start...?

dharma  hi there all of u 

Susan  Let us start. Were you fond of hiding frogs in your pocket as a small boy? 

Karthik  no susan actually u don't believe as boy i was afraid of 2 things  one is lizard and another was frog.

Susan  I have been living in Delhi till recently and I do not remember seeing frogs on the roads or near our house...... 

Susan  But after shifting to Gurgaon last month, a little frog came to the house to visit and we all felt excited.

Karthik  yaaa now a days they have become a rare creature to be seen... 

Susan  That is when I decided to read up a little 

dharma  ya we cant say rare karthik but u know some of the species are getting extinct also 

Karthik  before as soon as the first drop of rain landed the land.. we could see them on the roads and in the garden too 

Susan  I believe more than 50% of all amhibians in India are found in W. Ghats

 dharma  actually i had seen on tv in ngc channel....... 

 dharma  ya thats true susan 

Karthik  yaa today morning i was going through an website... where i got to know in india study on amphibians is neglected a lot.. 

Susan  Tell us what you saw on NGC 

dharma  but some species according to researches and by asking the public i mean the tribes of the jungles say the frogs are getting extinct 

dharma  with out any actual hunting or destroying their habitat 

Karthik  one more thing what was mentioned there in website was... we know hardly 20% of the total frogs in western ghats 

dharma  the researchers say they might be getting extinct because of pollution and due to the UV rays coming in 

dharma  and they also say this might be a warning to the man kind 

Susan  Their going extinct is sure sign of environ pollution 

dharma  ya karthik i have seen all kinds of frogs in the western ghats yellow white green mud clour etc etc and i have taken photographs also 

Karthik  i fear may be before we know them much of them will be extinct

dharma  and u know one more thing i have seen frogs in places where the water body is Kms away from that place 

Susan  We are staring a photogallery Wildscapes.net soon as part of IWC.com. 

dharma  what do u say abt this Susan 

dharma  thats gr8 how can we join this .com 

 Karthik  were they toads or frogs...? can u plz differentiate between them susan, dharma 

Susan  You can send in photographs of amphibians , snakes any wildlife... and we can publish them 

dharma  ho thats gr8 susan then i'll plan for shooting session shortly 

dharma  well Karthik i think they were frogs they were small in size and very active 

Karthik  how can we differentiate between frogs & toads...? Susan; Dharma 

dharma  according to my Knowledge toads are big in size slower in motion the opposite to the frogs 

dharma  what do u say susan 

Susan  Have you seen the quiz on Frogs & toads on the homepage? 

Karthik  its ok... susan can u list some differnces between frog & toad 

Karthik  no susan :( 

Susan  toads lay eggs in large strings 

dharma  how abt the frogs

Susan  Frogs lay eggs in bubble groups 

 Karthik  susan can u tell some visible differences between frog & toad...?

dharma  ya hey man Karthik do u remember we had taken a photograph in the wetern ghats a big frog was laying eggs 

 Susan  Visually toads have skins with ridges and blobs all over wheras frogs have moist skins

dharma  all bubbled up

Karthik  do u mean a smooth structure in case of frogs susan..? 

  dharma  hmm thats a good point Susan tell me some more differences 

Susan  I am sure you guys can tell me the visual differences better since you have actually seen them in the wild 

 Karthik  yaa we have seen susan but not much observed... susan 

dharma  Hey, Susan u said we can send photographs to the web how will i send it through mail or by post 

Susan  Some pics of frogs I have seen ...with smooth and colorful skins almost beautiful esply tree frogs 

Karthik  Non-native species prey on or compete with native amphibians ---> have u ever come across with this Susan; Dharma...? 

Susan  You can send them through mail 

dharma  Hey, Karthik Susan i think i should leave now  Susan can i have ur email ID 

Susan  How are non native species introduced? 

Susan  Today I really wish we had an expert with us 

Susan  Shoot your queries anyway I will get them answered 

Susan  My email is susan_sharma@hotmail.com  Thanks Dharma 

Karthik  that was the question which is again wandering in my mind susan i just got to know abt Non-native species through this website Amphibiaweb 

Karthik  which r the other animals which belong to amphibians...? Susan

Susan  What is the website .org or .com? 

Susan  Yeas it is .org and seems like a good site 

  Karthik  this is the website http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/aw/ -->Susan

dharma  thankx for the id i'll try to stay in touch

Susan  Amhibians vary from the legless caecilians.. 

Karthik  do turtles & tortoise also belong to amphibians family...? 

Susan  to salamanders (lizard like) 

 Susan  and newts 

Susan  No they do not 

Karthik  tell me something abt Salamanders...? 

 Karthik  Susan u there...? 

Susan  I believe there is only one species of salamanders in India 

 Susan  in the Eastern Himalayas 

Karthik  which is that & where do we find them...? Susan 

Karthik  oh.. ok 

Karthik  what abt this newts...? how do they look like Susan.. i have not heard abt them...? 

Susan  Do you have a suggest ion for next month's topic? 

Karthik  if u can really give some options... i will let u know through mail Susan..? 

Susan  The pic I have seen of Himalyan newt.... 

Karthik  is that we r the only to chat again next month.. why others r not logging into chat Susan...? 

Susan  looks like a lizard 

Susan  Yes I wish others will too.