''Alcalus sariba'', also known as Saribau eastern frog or Saribau dwarf mountain frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Alcalinae, family

Ceratobatrachidae The Ceratobatrachidae are a family of frogs found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon Islands. Taxonomy Ceratobatrachidae was formerly treated as a subfamily (i.e ...

. It is

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 ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

, Malaysian

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, where it is known from a small number of locations, including the eponymous Mount Saribau. It has often been included in '' Alcalus baluensis'' (=''Ingerana baluensis''), but is now considered a distinct species. The two species are similar but ''Alcalus sariba'' is larger.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

is a female measuring in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

, and the common length for females is ; the size of the male is unknown. The overall appearance is stocky. The head is relatively big compared to the body. Coloration varies from light to dark brown and includes some darker markings. The adhesive finger discs bear a white cross-bar.

Habitat and conservation

''Alcalus sariba'' occurs along seepage areas close to small streams as well as in leaf litter in primary forest; it does not tolerate habitat disturbance. Breeding biology is unknown but presumably involves direct development (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage), as in other ''Alcalus''. ''Alcalus sariba'' is considered common and occurs in the

Santubong National Park The Santubong National Park is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 35 km north of Kuching. It contains the 810m peak of Mount Santubong and surrounding rainforested slopes. There are a number of jungle treks in the park, ...

Kubah National Park The Kubah National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Kubah) is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, located at 20 km from the city centre. Wild animals are hidden deep in the rainforest here, and some of the species that live here are be ...

, and Matang Wildlife Centre. However, outside protected areas it is threatened by

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 ...

caused by logging concessions, small scale subsistence logging, and oil palm plantations. Furthermore, Santubong National Park is facing encroachment from housing and tourism development.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28053371 sariba Endemic fauna of Borneo Endemic fauna of Malaysia Amphibians of Malaysia Taxa named by Robert Walter Campbell Shelford Amphibians described in 1905 Amphibians of Borneo