Small Torrent Frog

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Micrixalus saxicola | Photographed in a stream on the way from Somwarpet to Pushpagiri WLS (Kodagu, Karnataka)

Torrent frogs are a unique group of frogs native to the Western Ghats southwards from Amboli in Maharashtra. They are found in or close to perennial forest streams, some preferring rocks while others are found in leaf litter. Torrent frogs are known for their habit of raising their feet to signal to rival males and to attract potential mates- a behaviour called foot-flagging- which gives them their other, more recent name, "dancing frogs".
Earlier this year, research revealed an unprecedented diversity of this group.

M. saxicola is a common torrent frog found in suitable habitats in the ghats throughout southern Karnataka. This individual was sitting close to the water's edge on a rock in the middle of a stream. The light was low, with intermittent rain. Using a tripod was no good due to the fast flowing stream, and using a narrower aperture with flash wasn't reproducing the colours correctly. I shot this hand held using live view.

Canon 500D, Canon 100 mm Macro USM
SS 1/13
Av 9.0
ISO 800
Full frame
Hand held

Thanks, C&C welcome.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Good to read information about this species. The built-in flash has kind of overpowered the situation and muted the colours. A bit more contrast would be better. Were you standing in the stream and clicking? Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Sabyasachi- No flash used here. I could post an image shot with flash for comparison, wherein the colours look very different. The colours in this image are close to real life. Will try working on the contrast.
I was sitting on the same rock and bending over to get this angle. My arm was partially resting on the rock. The water was about knee-deep at that spot.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Good details in the eye. Inspite of the low shutter speed you have got it sharp. The diagonal composition looks nice. Did you count the total number of species you photographed during this research trip? Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Mrudul- Roughly 48 to 52 species of amphibians (exact no. not certain because of the ambiguous nature of some species IDs). Still have a lot more to post from that trip.

[Mrudul Godbole]

48 to 50 varieties that is really a good number. Look forward to more in the series. Keep sharing.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

nice one Abhishek. good info.

TFS
Roopak