''Wijayarana modiglianii'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family Ranidae. 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 else ...

to Sumatra (

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

). It was originally only known from two locations near

Lake Toba Lake Toba ( id, Danau Toba) ( Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of a supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the i ...

, but is now known to be more widespread. The specific name ''modiglianii'' honors

Elio Modigliani Elio Modigliani (13 June 1860 – 6 August 1932) was an Italian anthropologist, zoologist, explorer, and plant collector. Biography The son of a Florentine banker, he first made his name in the Italian scientific community at the age of 20, wh ...

, an Italian anthropologist and zoologist 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 sever ...

in 1891. Common name Modigliani's huia frog has been coined for this species. Morphological evidence suggests that it can hybridize with '' Huia sumatrana'', but this needs confirmation using genetic data.

Description

The

, an adult male, measures in snout–vent length, whereas an adult female

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). O ...

measures . The head is broader than it is wide and the snout is slightly pointed. The tympanum is large and distinct. The fingers are slender and bear large discs in their tips. The hind limbs are long. The toe discs are smaller than the finger discs; the toes are almost fully webbed. The thighs and the tibia have six crossbars each.

Habitat and conservation

''Wijayarana modiglianii'' occurs in tropical lowland and montane forests in association with fast-moving streams at elevations of above sea level. It has also been recorded near a forest edge, adjacent to an agricultural area. The

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

s develop in streams. Although this species can be locally common, 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 logging and creation of plantations, as well as siltation and pollution of streams caused by deforestation and agriculture. It is present in the Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks as well as in the Batang Toru Protection Forest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2244998 modiglianii Amphibians of Indonesia Endemic fauna of Indonesia Fauna of Sumatra Amphibians described in 1999 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot