Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
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Family : DICROGLOSSIDAE
Species : Limnonectes nitidus
Size (snout to vent) : Female 7.1 cm, Male 5.4 cm
This relatively small
species of Limnonectes has only been found in highland areas of
Peninsular Malaysia, in the hill resorts of Cameron Highlands and Fraser's
Hill at elevations of between 900 and 1500 metres.
The body form is somewhat flattened, with a short blunt head and rounded
snout.
Adults are brownish to greyish brown (sometimes with a hint
of purple colour on the dorsum). The hind limbs are patterned with characteristic thick dark bands.
Juveniles have complex patterning which includes a pale
cream forehead and snout, purplish upper back and a large area of cream-buff
on the lower back. The forelimbs are pale orange and the hindlimbs grey, and
all limbs are patterned with thick dark bands.
Figure 1 shows a juvenile in a stream bed: it appears to be well camouflaged
on a substrate of variably coloured, angular quartz
and feldspar sand.
Leong and Lim (2003) reported the discovery of larvae of this species in a
waterlogged, seepage area with dense leaf litter substrate at the edge of
montane forest at Fraser's Hill.
The Tanahrata Wart Frog appears to be endemic to the Titiwangsa mountain
range of Peninsular Malaysia.
Fig 1 : Juvenile measuring around 2 cm in a
shallow forest stream with sandy substrate at Fraser's
Hill, Peninsular Malaysia at an elevation of around 1000 metres.
Fig 2 : Microhabitat of the juvenile specimen in figure 1.
Fig 3 : Example found at a roadside seep at Fraser's Hill, Peninsular
Malaysia at around 1000 metres elevation.
References:
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.
2018. Limnonectes nitidus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018:
e.T58361A90986997
Leong, T.M. & Lim, B.L. A new
species of Rana (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae) from the highlands of the
Malay Peninsula, with diagnostic larval descriptions. Raffles Bulletin of
Zoology 51 (1): Pp. 1–177.
Manthey U., Grossmann W., 1997. Amphibien und Reptilien Sudostasiens. Natur
und Tier - Verlag.
Thanks to Leong Tzi Ming for assistance.
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