Montane Marsh Frog
Poyntonia paludicolaSummary 1
The montane marsh frog, Poyntonia paludicola, is a very localized species of frog in the Petropedetidae family, which is monotypic within its genus.
Description 2
Poyntonia paludicola is a small ranid frog that ranges from 23 to 30 millimeters in length from snout to vent (SVL). Adults have very rough and warty skin on their sides and dorsal surfaces. This species strongly resembles a bufonid, due to the rough skin texture, as well as an invisible tympanum and raised glandular areas behind the eyes resembling parotoids (Channing and Boycott 1989).
The holotype for this species is a male (SVL 29 mm) (Channing and Boycott 1989). The skin on the dorsum and flanks is covered with distinct glandular warts with pale perforations. Warts also occur on the head and limbs, but are smaller and less dense. Some warts even occur on plantar surfaces. A distinct postorbital glandular ridge of tubercles runs from the top of the head, behind the eye, then diagonally backwards to the angle of the jaw. The skin of the gular region is finely granular and lightly pigmented. The skin of the venter and underside of the limbs is lightly pigmented. The anal opening is directed posteroventrally at the upper level of the thighs. The testes have a black pigment and are bean shaped. The hind limbs are short and very robust. The upper arms of the front legs are slightly less robust than the hind legs and the toes are moderately webbed with discs being absent on the digits. The head is slightly narrower than the body. The snout appears to be bluntly rounded when viewed from the side and is truncate in profile. The nostrils are raised and rimmed, and the eyes are moderate in size, protruding above the head, with horizontal pupils. The choanae are round and the choanal diameter/interchoanal distance is 0.25. The tongue is in length more than twice its width and is notched posteriorly. There are no median papillae and vocal slits are absent. The tympanum are invisible. A raised glandular area behind each eye resembles the parotoids of a bufonid, caused by a well developed muscle covered by a thin layer of skin.
The top of the head, the body, and the upper side of the limbs are a dark grayish brown color. A pale to reddish vertebral stripe was seen in some individuals catalogued by Channing and Boycott (1989). A distinct white ridge occurs from the eye to the angle of the jaw. The underside of the body is pale and can be creamy to heavily flecked. The undersides of the limbs are flecked.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poyntonia_paludicola
- (c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2015 The Regents of the University of California, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/34271583
