''Callulina shengena'' 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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 was discovered in 2010 during a survey of rainforests in the northern part of the

Eastern Arc Mountains The Eastern Arc Mountains is a chain of mountains found in Kenya and Tanzania. The chain runs from northeast to southwest, with the Taita Hills being in Kenya and the other ranges being in Tanzania. They are delimited on the southwest by the fau ...

of Tanzania. It is present at two locations in Chome Forest Reserve at altitudes between . The forests in which it lives are being selectively felled, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has rated its conservation status as " critically endangered".

Description

Frogs in the genus ''

Callulina ''Callulina'' (commonly known as the warty frogs) is a small genus of frogs in the family Brevicipitidae with nine members in Tanzania and Kenya. Originally ''Callulina'' was thought to be monotypic and widely distributed through Eastern Arc Mou ...

'' are

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 the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. They are characterised by short blunt snouts and plump bodies covered with glandular warts. ''Callulina shengena'' is mainly grey with small white tubercles. It is a relatively large species of ''Callulina'', reaching in snout–urostyle length.

Distribution and habitat

''Callulina shengena'' is known from only two small locations in the Chome Forest Reserve in the

of Tanzania. Its typical habitat is humid tropical montane forest, particularly forest dominated by the East African camphorwood (''Ocotaea usambarensis''). Its total area of occupancy is estimated to be but this assumes that the frog is also present in the area intervening between its known locations.

Ecology

Very little is known of the ecology of this species, specimens having been caught in pitfall traps, but some individuals have been seen climbing on undergrowth, low branches and tree trunks at night, at heights up to about . It is believed that all members of the family

reproduce on the ground by

direct development Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before metam ...

Status

The Chome Forest Reserve is being degraded by timber harvesting activities, with the valuable East African camphorwood being felled. ''C. shengena'' has never been found in the secondary forest that grows in place of the virgin forest. The ongoing destruction of its habitat does not augur well for this frog with its small range, and the

has rated it as " critically endangered".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2934313 Callulina Endemic fauna of Tanzania Amphibians of Tanzania Frogs of Africa Amphibians described in 2010