''Alcalus baluensis'' 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

Ceratobatrachidae The Ceratobatrachidae are a family of frogs found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon Islands. Taxonomy Ceratobatrachidae was formerly treated as a subfamily (i.e ...

. 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 northern and western

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 ...

. Its common name is Balu eastern frog or dwarf mountain frog. It was placed in the family

Dicroglossidae The frog family Dicroglossidae occurs in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, with most genera and species being found in Asia. The common name of the family is fork-tongued frogs. The Dicroglossidae were previously considered to ...

before being transferred to Ceratobatrachidae in 2015.

Description

''Alcalus baluensis'' are small but stocky frogs. They typically measure in snout–vent length.

Tympanic ring The ectotympanic, or tympanicum, is a bony structure found in all mammals, located on the tympanic part of the temporal bone, which holds the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in place. In catarrhine primates (including humans), it takes a tube-shape. I ...

is visible.

Habitat and conservation

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 lowland and mid-elevation primary rainforests. It occurs on the forest floor in leaf litter and along stream banks. 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 ...

References

baluensis Endemic fauna of Borneo Amphibians of Brunei Amphibians of Indonesia Amphibians of Malaysia Amphibians described in 1896 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians of Borneo {{Ceratobatrachidae-stub