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Home > Species > Amphibians > Seychelles Palm Frog

Seychelles Palm Frog

Sechellophryne pipilodryas

About

The Critically Endangered Seychelles palm frog was only described as a new species in 2002, and details of its breeding behaviour are currently unknown.

This species is part of the Sooglossidae (Seychelles frog) family which are endemic to the Seychelles. The family diverged from their closest ancestors, the purple frogs of India, around 100 million years ago. This is around the same time humans and elephants last shared a common ancestor. It is the only species of native Seychelles frogs not to be found on the largest and most populous island of Mahé. This is a very small frog, reaching around 1.4 cm in length, although its close relative Gardiner’s Seychelles frog is smaller still.

The Seychelles palm frog is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 20,000 individuals remaining and the population declining in many parts of its very small range (7 km2). Such a small range is an inherent risk, as the frog is more vulnerable to ecological disasters and climate change. The frog is under threat from habitat degradation due to introduced plants and, most importantly, climate change.  The declines in population are in areas with changing rainfall patterns, exposing the frogs to drier conditions. It is projected that all suitable habitat for the frog will be lost before the end of the century.

The forest areas in which this species occurs are managed for conservation by the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles via their Islands Development Company Silhouette Conservation Project. Many small reserves on the islands have been set up by the Seychelles Government and independent agencies to protect specific species and general habitat areas.

 

  • Order: Anura
  • Family: Sooglossidae
  • Population: <20000
  • Trend: unknown
  • Size: 11-14.3mm

EDGE Score

EDGE Score: 6.74 (?)
ED Score: 51.85 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List (?)
Not Evaluated Data Deficient Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in the Wild Extinct

Distribution

Restricted to Silhouette Island in the Seychelles, occurring 250m above sea level and has an known distribution of only 665 hectares, which is approximately the size of 440 football fields!

Habitat and Ecology

Its habitat is high forest over 250m above sea level and it closely associated with palms. The breeding habits are unknown but it is likely to take place by direct development; meaning the offspring will bypass the tadpole stage and develop into froglets within the egg. The females will lay the eggs on the ground or in leaf axils (where the shoot or leaf grows out of the main stem).

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This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species. The size of each word indicates the extent of a species range that is affected by that threat (larger size means a greater area is affected). The colour of the word indicates how much that threat impacts the species (darker shades of red mean the threat is more severe).

Habitat change Invasive species

Threat wordcloud key:

Small area affected
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Large area affected
Least severe
Most severe
Severity unknown
Source: The IUCN List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.1.
Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org

Download the survival blueprint for this species below. Each survival blueprint is compiled by an EDGE fellow working on the species with input from collaborators and stakeholders. The survival blueprint provides a status review (information on the distribution, protection status, habitat & ecology, threat and stakeholder analysis) and more information on the action programme listed here. 

Vision (30-50 years)

There are viable sooglossidae population on all the three islands (Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette).

Goal (5-10 years)

To ensure that there is a long-term monitoring programme in place on all the three islands (Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette), and reduce data deficiency on sooglossid frogs’ ecology and the risk of chytrid disease from arriving into the country.

Objectives

 Priority
Establish a long-term monitoring programme for the conservation of sooglossid frogs within protected areas on all three islands (Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette). Critical
Review and update the Sooglossidae Conservation Action Plan (Survival Blueprint) through a stakeholders’ participatory process. Critical
Develop and enforce legislation to reduce the risk of the chytrid disease from arriving into the country. Critical
Status of Sooglossidae is known through research on population size, ecology and behaviour of all four species. High
Develop partnership between different organisations managing protected areas in Seychelles to facilitate sharing of information. High
Actively involve University of Seychelles’ students in field research and scientific data analysis, and other conservation activities. Medium
Increase visibility of Sooglossidae nationally to attract more funding. Low
Download the full Survival Blueprint

Targeting the Seychelles ‘EDGE-zone’

  • Locations: Seychelles
  • Active dates: 2012 - 2015
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James Mougal

  • Project name: Improve our knowledge on sooglossid frogs distribution & abundance and develop a monitoring protocol
  • Project site: Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette islands, Seychelles
  • Active: 2014 - 2017
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