''Barbarophryne'' is a genus 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 ...
s in the family
Bufonidae. It is monotypic, containing only the species Brongersma's toad (''Barbarophryne brongersmai''), also known as Tiznit toad. It is found in Algeria and Morocco.
It is a small toad, up to about in snout–to–
vent length.
The Brongersma's toad was initially placed in the genus ''
Bufo'' and then ''Pseudepidalea'' (a synonym of ''
Bufotes''), but in 2013 it was moved to its own genus ''Barbarophryne''.
[
The natural ]habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of ''Barbarophryne brongersmai'' are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, intermittent river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s, intermittent freshwater marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
es, rocky areas, hot desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s, arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
, pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...
s, and canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s and ditches. Its habitat is primarily semi-arid sparsely vegetated areas, and it is also thought to be adapted to some disturbed 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 ...
.
References
External links
''Barbarophryne'' on Amphibian Species of the World
Bufonidae on AmphibiaWb
Bufonidae
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Amphibians described in 1972
{{Bufonidae-stub