The Mazumbai warty frog (''Callulina kisiwamsitu'') 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 ...

s in the family

Brevicipitidae Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2020 contains 37 species in 5 genera. eb application 2013. Berkeley, CaliforniaBrevicipitidae AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. ...

. 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 ...

to forests of the West

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

where it is threatened by habitat loss. It is part of a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

and was recognised as a separate species in 2004, having previously been included in '' Callulina kreffti''.

Description

''Callulina kisiwamsitu'' is a small species with an adult length of . The females are larger than the males. The skin is densely warted and the colour is a mottling of various shades of brown and black.

Distribution and habitat

''Callulina kisiwamsitu'' is endemic to the West

in Tanzania. Much of this area has been deforested and this species is found in the remains of the forested area around

Lushoto Lushoto is a town in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. It is the capital of Lushoto District, Tanga Region. The 2012 national census estimated the population of Lushoto ward at 28,190. The Irente School for the Blind Girls is located in Lushoto ...

including the Mazumbai Forest Reserve, Ambangula Forest Reserve and Shume-Mugambo Forest Reserve. It is found climbing in trees and on the ground in damp forests with thick

undergrowth Undergrowth usually refers to the vegetation in the lower part of a forest, which can obstruct passage through the forest. The height of undergrowth is usually considered to be 0.3 – 3 m (1 – 9 ft.). Undergrowth can also refer to all ...

Biology

''Callulina kisiwamsitu'' is a

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

and feeds on small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s including bugs,

grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshop ...

and

millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

s. Breeding takes place in the rainy season. The male ''Callulina kisiwamsitu'' calls from low vegetation to attract a mate. The eggs are laid on land under cover in damp places. It is believed that direct development of the young takes place with juvenile frogs hatching directly from the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

Status

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 ...

regards this species as "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

" as its range is small (believed to be about ) and it only occurs in one location where its habitat is being lost. Its population trend is unknown. It is not known whether its habitat is severely fragmented.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2241528 Callulina Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Amphibians described in 2004 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot