''Duttaphrynus kotagamai'' (Kotagama's 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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Its 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 are tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s, and

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. 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 ...

. ''D. kotagamaii'' is named after

Sarath Kotagama Vidya Jyothi Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama ( si, සරත් විමලබන්ඩාර කොටගම) is a Sri Lankan ornithologist and environmentalist. He is a Professor Emeritus and former head of the Department of Zoology, University o ...

. A grown male is 33–40 mm in length, while a female reaches 55–63 mm. It is nocturnal, and lives commonly under rocks or decomposed leaves. It is found in Massena, Kitulgala, and Singharaja forests. Its diet consists of termites and grasshoppers. Its breeding biology has not been recorded, but it presumably takes place in water, probably in streams. Habitat loss (

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

) and human disturbance (local tourism) are the primary threats to this species. It is considered endangered by the

IUCN 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 ...

. The body is orangish with a pale color on the ventral surface. Side brown patches can be seen on occasion. Its skin is dry and has warts, and there are three pale stripes between the eyes.

References

External links

* http://eol.org/pages/1018186/details * https://web.archive.org/web/20170820173627/http://www.arkive.org/kotagamas-dwarf-toad/bufo-kotagamai/ * http://zipcodezoo.com/index.php/Bufo_kotagamai Duttaphrynus Frogs of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Amphibians described in 1994 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bufonidae-stub