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Werneria Pygmaea
''Werneria'', also known as the torrent toads or smalltongue toads, is a small genus of "true toads", family Bufonidae. They are found in western Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Cameroon), with the greatest species richness in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. The species generally have restricted or patchy distributions and are considered threatened. Etymology The genus is named after Franz Werner, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist who was active in Africa. Description ''Werneria'' are medium-sized toads with a snout-to-vent length between ; females tend to be larger than males. They do not have hearing organs, vocal sacs (they are silent), nor parotoid glands. Skin is smooth. Toe webbing ranges from rudimentary to full. Tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vocal Sac
The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way of externally determining the sex of a frog or toad in many species; taking frogs as an example; The vocal sac is open to the mouth cavity of the frog, with two slits on either side of the tongue. To call, the frog inflates its lungs and shuts its nose and mouth. Air is then expelled from the lungs, through the larynx, and into the vocal sac. The vibrations of the larynx emits a sound, which resonates on the elastic membrane of the vocal sac. The resonance causes the sound to be amplified and allows the call to carry further. Muscles within the body wall force the air back and forth between the lungs and vocal sac. Development The development of the vocal sac is different in most species, however they mostly follow the same process. The d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria
''Werneria'', also known as the torrent toads or smalltongue toads, is a small genus of "true toads", family Bufonidae. They are found in western Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Cameroon), with the greatest species richness in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. The species generally have restricted or patchy distributions and are considered threatened. Etymology The genus is named after Franz Werner, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist who was active in Africa. Description ''Werneria'' are medium-sized toads with a snout-to-vent length between ; females tend to be larger than males. They do not have hearing organs, vocal sacs (they are silent), nor parotoid glands. Skin is smooth. Toe webbing ranges from rudimentary to full. Tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Tandyi
''Werneria tandyi'', also known as Tandy's torrent toad or Tandy's smalltongue toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to western Cameroon and known from Mount Manengouba and from the Rumpi Hills. The specific name ''tandyi'' honours Robert Mills Tandy, biologist, herpetologist, and wildlife photographer. Description ''Werneria tandyi'' is a relatively slender-bodied ''Werneria''. Males grow to and females to in snout–vent length. The head is straight and pointed. Parotoid glands and tympani are absent. The toes have traces of webbing. The back is dark chocolate-brown, while the flanks are very dark brown to black and separated from the back by thin, white dorsolateral lines that are well-delineated. The venter is clear brown to yellowish gray with tiny white or yellow spots. Habitat and conservation ''Werneria tandyi'' lives by fast-flowing streams in submontane forest and degraded secondary habitats at elevations of above sea level. Several indivi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Submontana
''Werneria submontana'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to western Cameroon and is known from Mount Kupe and the Bakossi Mountains. It is found at elevations of above sea level, but there are tentative records from lower elevations, perhaps down to . It has been found in association with rivers (under rocks in a partly dried-up river basin, and on stony ground among low vegetation in the spray zone of a small, artificial waterfall). The species can be locally abundant but is threatened by habitat loss. Parts of its range receive protection from the Bakossi Forest Reserve The Bakossi Forest Reserve is a reserve within the Bakossi Mountains in Cameroon, home to many rare species of plants, animals and birds. The Forest Reserve in turn contains the Bakossi National Park, created by a decree in early 2008. The park co .... References submontana Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Amphibians described in 2004 Taxa n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Preussi
''Werneria preussi'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in southwestern Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ... and—highly disjunctly and based on a more than 100 years old record—in Togo. Some sources also mention Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitats are rocky streams and waterfalls in submontane forests, but it also occurs in degraded secondary habitats. It lives exclusively in and around water and breeds in streams. It is locally common but probably threatened by habitat loss, loss of its forest caused by agricultural encroachment and human settlement. References Werneria, preussi Amphibians of Cameroon Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1893 {{Bufonidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Mertensiana
''Werneria mertensiana'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in western Cameroon (Mount Nlonako, Mount Manengouba, Mount Kala, possibly Western High Plateau) and possibly in the Obudu Plateau in Nigeria. The specific name ''mertensiana'' honours Robert Mertens, a German zoologist and herpetologist. Common name Mertens' smalltongue toad has been coined for it. ''Werneria mertensiana'' is typically found associated with rocks in streams and waterfalls in forest and degraded secondary habitats at the lower limit of the submontane zone, above sea level. It can also be found in leaf-litter away from water. It can be locally relatively abundant. The main threat to it is probably habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References mert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Iboundji
''Werneria iboundji'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Gabon and only known from its type locality, Mont Iboundji. Only two specimens are known, collected from among rocks at the edge of a plunge pool at the base of a large waterfall in lowland forest, at above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb .... It is threatened by logging, which would likely negatively affect the micro-climate—the species depends on high humidity. References iboundji Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Gabon Endemic fauna of Gabon Amphibians described in 2004 Taxa named by Wolfgang Böhme (herpetologist) Taxa named by Olivier Sylvain Gérard Pauwels Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bufonidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werneria Bambutensis
''Werneria bambutensis'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to western Cameroon where it occurs at high altitudes between Mount Manengouba and Mount Oku, including the eponymous Bamboutos Mountains. It is also known as the Bamboutos smalltongue toad and Bambouto torrent toad. Description Adult males can grow to and adult females to in snout–vent length. The body is compact and the legs are short and thick. The snout is short and rounded. No tympanum is visible. The toes are fully webbed. The dorsum and the flanks are dark greenish-olive to clear bronze, with a gold shimmer or blackish speckles. The dorsolateral line (present in most other ''Werneria'') is only weakly present on the sides of the head. The lower parts are uniformly grey to white with grey spots. Habitat and conservation ''Werneria bambutensis'' lives in fast-flowing streams at elevations between above sea level, typically within montane forest patches and rarely lower than . Outsid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadpole
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically. A few amphibians, such as some members of the frog family Brevicipitidae, undergo direct development i.e., they do not undergo a free-living larval stage as tadpoles instead emerging from eggs as fully formed "froglet" miniatures of the adult morphology. Some other species hatch into tadpoles underneath the skin of the female adult or are kept in a pouch until after metamorphosis. Having no hard skeletons, it might be expected that tadpole fossils would not exist. However, traces of biofilms have been preserved and fossil tadpoles have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parotoid Gland
The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collectively as bufotoxins, which act as neurotoxins to deter predation. These cutaneous glands are called parotoid as they are somewhat similarly positioned to mammalian parotid gland, although the latter have a different function, excreting saliva within the mouth rather than externally excreted defensive chemicals. A study of the parotoid glands of the Colorado River toad in 1976 found that the parotoid glands were "composed of numerous lobules", each of which is a separate unit with a lumen surrounded by a double cell layer. The cell layers have interlocking microvilli. The study found that the outer cell layer resembled smooth muscle cells, with some organelles hypothesised to "function in some aspects of venom synthesis, active cellular trans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
