Breeding and Nesting Behaviour of Rhacophorus maximus (Anura:Rhacophoridae) in Meghalaya, North East India

The present study deals with the breeding and nesting behaviour of Rhacophorus maximus at Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram, Meghalaya, North East India. Breeding activity of R. maximus occurred after the first few showers of rain and an increase in air temperature. The species breeds sporadically for a short period, which lasts for about 6-8 weeks during March and April. Amplexus took place on land as well as in water and lasted for several hours. Aggregations of male frogs making advertisement call at the breeding sites have been observed. Competition among the males to mate with the female frogs and at the same time trying to dislodge the amplecting pairs have also been observed. Multiple amplecting pairs are seen in the temporary rainfed pond at Mawsynram, which appeared to be a congenial breeding habitat during the peak of the breeding period. Both male and female frogs took active part in nest construction. The species constructs foam nests on diverse substrata such as aquatic vegetation about 2-3 cm above the water surface, on bare rocks near the water bodies and on earthen banks. The water temperature recorded during oviposition ranged from 20°C to 22.5°C, air temperature from 21.5°C to 26°C and relative humidity from 65% to 99%. The eggs are large, measuring 2 mm in diameter, unpigmented, white in colour and clutch size varies between 809 and 2059 with a mean of 1351.96 ± 83.07.