''Adenomus kandianus'' (Kandyan dwarf toad) is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat m ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Sri Lanka. It is a high-altitude species known only from few localities. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''kandianus'' means "from

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

" and seems to suggest that the type material came from near the city of Kandy.

Rediscovery

As there had been no record of the species since 1872, it was listed as extinct by the IUCN in 2004. However, in June 2012 it was announced that almost three years earlier, in October 2009, the species was rediscovered in the

Peak Wilderness Sanctuary Peak Wilderness sanctuary is a natural reserve in Sri Lanka. It is the third largest (by area) of the 50 sanctuaries in the country. "Sri Pada" Peak Wilderness sanctuary is a tropical rain forest that spreads over a land of 224 square kilometers ...

in Sri Lanka. In light of the discovery, the species was reclassified in 2012 as critically endangered in the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. Another extant population was reported in 2014 from

Pidurutalagala Pidurutalagala ( si, පිදුරුතලාගල, pronounced , ''Straw Plateau Rock''), or Mount Pedro in English, is an ultra prominent peak and the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka, at . It is situated North-North-East from the town of Nuwa ...

Forest Reserve.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The

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 collective ...

s are relatively long, which is the single morphological trait that separates ''Adenomus kandianus'' from ''

Adenomus kelaartii ''Adenomus kelaartii'' (Kelaart's toad or Kelaart's dwarf toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is found in the south-west of the island at elevations between 30 and 1,230 m. The specific ...

'' with shorter parotoid glands. The tympanum is submerged and poorly visible. The toes are partially to fully webbed; the partially webbed morphs were described as a separate species, ''Adenomus dasi'', but because the morphs show negligible genetic differences, ''A. dasi'' is not longer recognized as distinct. The fingers have no webbing. The dorsum is yellowish brown; the head is more reddish compared to the body. A tiny gold-coloured vertebral stripe is present. The parotoid glands are chocolate or dark brown. The lips have black and gold dots. The venter is gold. An hourglass-shaped pattern of tubercles on the dorsum may be present. The

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 i ...

has relatively long body (39% of total length). The body is flattened and wide anteriorly, accommodating a ventral sucker disc that covers more than half of the body. The eyes are bulbous.

Gosner stage Gosner stage is a generalized system of describing stages of embryonal and larval development in anurans (frogs and toads). The Gosner system includes 46 numbered stages, from fertilized embryo (stage 1) to the completion of metamorphosis (stage ...

36 specimen measures in total length.

Habitat

''Adenomus kandianus'' is known from montane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s and tropical moist forests in and near hill streams at elevations of

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 ...

. The tadpoles develop in the streams.

Rediscovery

Description

Habitat

References

Further reading