''Glyphoglossus smithi'', also known as Smith's squat frog or Smith's burrowing 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 family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. 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 ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

and

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 ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

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 ...

. However, it is likely to occur more widely than currently known and be present in Brunei and Indonesia. The specific name ''smithi'' honours Dr Harrison Willard Smith, an American scientist who collected 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 ...

from the Limbang River district.

Description

Adult females measure up to 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 ...

. The overall appearance is stocky. The head is small, slightly wider than it is long. The snout is truncate. The tympanum is present but hidden under skin. The finger tips are not expanded but the toe tips are expanded into small discs. The toes are about one-fourth webbed. Skin is smooth. Colouration is dark brown above with dark markings edged with pink or red. A conspicuous red or pink arc may be present above the anus.

Habitat and conservation

''Glyphoglossus smithi'' occurs in lowland rainforests. It is a secretive, burrowing species that is rarely observed. The eggs are probably laid in pools of standing water on the forest floor. 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 clear-cutting. The type locality in Sarawak has experienced severe habitat loss and the species might no longer persist there. The Sabah locality is, however, within the

Danum Valley Conservation Area Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438 square kilometres tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. It has an extensive diversity of tropical flora and fauna, including such species as the rare Bornean ...

, which is well protected.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2241496, from2=Q27149073 smithi Amphibians of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Borneo Amphibians described in 1916 Taxa named by Thomas Barbour Taxa named by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians of Borneo