biology

Nannophrys guentheri

Nannophrys guentheri is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nannophrys guentheri rather than just read about it. In short: Nannophrys guentheri (Gunther's streamlined frog) is an extinct species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka.

Key takeaways

Nannophrys guentheri belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nannophrys guentheri to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nannophrys guentheri from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nannophrys guentheri (Gunther's streamlined frog) is an extinct species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was first identified in 1882 by George Boulenger and named after the German-born British zoologist Albert Günther. It is not known where in Sri Lanka the specimens were found.

Taxonomy Nannophrys guentheri has not been observed since the type specimens were collected. These are poorly preserved and might not be distinct from Nannophrys ceylonensis. Genus Nannophrys used to be placed in the large frog family Ranidae but a phylogenetic study was undertaken using DNA sequences and it is now included in the family Dicroglossidae.

Description Nannophrys guentheri was a small species, with snout to vent length given as 28.5 mm for males. Vomerine teeth are in two indistinct groups behind the choanae (the inner part of the nostrils). Lower jaw has slight traces of bony prominences in front. Head is rather small and not bony. Snout is short, rounded, with angular canthus rostralis. Interorbital space is narrower than the upper eyelid and tympanum is not distinctly defined. First finger is shorter than second and the difference of length between the first and second fingers is much greater than that between the second and third. The tips of fingers are pointed, while the toes have a short, but very distinct web at the base. Subarticular tubercles of fingers and toes are not well developed: inner metatarsal tubercle is elongate and rather indistinct while there is no outer tubercle. The hind limb being carried forwards along the body the tibiotarsal articulation reaches the tip of the snout. Skin is strongly tubercular above and smooth beneath. A fold of the skin unites the posterior edges of the upper eyelids, and extends from the eye, over the tympanum and to the shoulder. Upper parts are brown and marbled with darker colour. The upper lip and the sides of body and limbs have small light spots; the hind limbs are cross-barred. The underside of the frog is uniform whitish. Males have two internal vocal sacs. The longer hind limbs and the smaller head give this species a much more slender appearance than the related Nannophrys ceylonensis: the proportions of the fingers are also important differences between the two species.

References

Further reading Clarke, B. T (1983). "A morphological re-examination of the frog genus Nannophrys (Anura: Ranidae) with comments on its biology, distribution and relationships". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 79 (4): 377–398. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1983.tb01171.x. This article incorporates text from Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata, by George Albert Boulenger, a publication from 1882, now in the public domain in the United States.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nannophrys guentheri

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nannophrys guentheri claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nannophrys guentheri before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nannophrys guentheri ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nannophrys guentheri

In research: Nannophrys guentheri appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nannophrys guentheri in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nannophrys guentheri is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibian extinctions since 1500, Amphibians described in 1882, Frogs of Sri Lanka, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nannophrys guentheri outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nannophrys guentheri in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nannophrys guentheri means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nannophrys guentheri out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nannophrys guentheri in simple terms?

Nannophrys guentheri (Gunther's streamlined frog) is an extinct species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka.

Why does Nannophrys guentheri matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nannophrys guentheri?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nannophrys guentheri.