biology

Pseudophilautus zal

Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal rather than just read about it. In short: Pseudophilautus zal, commonly known as the white blotched shrub frog, is an extinct species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Pseudophilautus zal, commonly known as the white blotched shrub frog, is an extinct species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka. It is only known from the type series consisting of three old museum specimens.

Etymology The specific name zal is a Polish word that, according to Arthur Rubinstein, refers to "sadness, nostalgia, regret, burning hurt, and yet something else". This name was chosen by the authors of the species to express their "sadness and frustration at the loss of this and so many other endemic amphibians in Sri Lanka".

Description The type series consists of three adult males measuring 25.0–25.4 mm (0.98–1.00 in) in snout–vent length. The body is stout. The snout is bluntly angled dorsally and rounded in profile. The tympanum is visible and the supratympanic fold is prominent. The canthal edges are sharp. Skin is shagreened to granular. The fingers have dermal fringes whereas the toes are medially webbed. The upper parts of the alcohol-preserved specimens are light brown with dark-brown blotches and about five white spots. The underside is pale yellow. The holotype was originally identified as Ixalus minutus, an unpublished name. One of the paratypes is a former syntype of Pseudophilautus variabilis, and the other was a syntype of Pseudophilautus microtympanum.

Distribution and conservation The types are only known to have been collected from "Ceylon", a rather general location. All were identified as different species, suggesting that Pseudophilautus zal might have had a wide distribution. No other specimens are known, despite extensive field surveys in more recent times. The habitat requirements of this species are unknown. The reasons for its demise are also unknown, but probably involved habitat loss.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pseudophilautus zal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal

In research: Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal 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: Pseudophilautus zal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibian extinctions since 1500, Amphibians described in 2005, Endemic amphibians of Sri Lanka, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pseudophilautus zal in simple terms?

Pseudophilautus zal, commonly known as the white blotched shrub frog, is an extinct species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It was endemic to Sri Lanka.

Why does Pseudophilautus zal 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 Pseudophilautus zal?

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 Pseudophilautus zal.