''Kalophrynus yongi'' is a species of frog 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 ...

, also known as the Cameron Highland sticky frog. 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 ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

and is only known from its type locality near the top of Gunung Brinchang (=Mount Brinchang), in the

Cameron Highlands The Cameron Highlands ( ms, Tanah Tinggi Cameron, , ta, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with ...

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

state. The specific name ''yongi'' honours Dr. Yong Hoi-Sen, a zoologist from the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

Description

Adult males measure 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 size of females is unknown. The overall appearance is stocky. The head is triangular, wider than it is long. The snout is obtusely pointed in dorsal view and truncate in profile. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is distinct, as is the tympanum. The forelimbs are comparatively long and very stout; the fingers have rounded tips and slight basal webbing. The hind limbs are moderately long; the toes have rounded tips and poorly developed webbing. The dorsal ground color varies from light orange brown to dark chocolate brown. There are obscure dark markings. The venter is dirty cream, dusted with brown on the throat. Males have a single sub

gular Gular is of or pertaining to the throat, and may more specifically refer to: * Gular scales in reptiles * Gular scute, or gular projection, in turtles and tortoises * Gular fold in lizards * Gular skin, or gular sac, in birds and some gibbons Ot ...

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...

. The male advertisement call is an intermittently emitted, soft "ting".

Habitat and conservation

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected from a mossy

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Adults are camouflaged and burrow into mosses, making them difficult to find. The diet includes spiders, grasshoppers, and weevils. Eggs and tadpoles have been found in a large cup of the pitcher plant ''

Nepenthes macfarlanei ''Nepenthes macfarlanei'' (; after John Muirhead Macfarlane, botanist) is a carnivorous pitcher plant species endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. It produces attractive red-speckled pitchers. Lower pitchers are ovoid or infundibular in the lower half ...

'', and tadpoles in a water-filled tree stump. Suitable mossy forests are only found on the top of the mountain and the species is likely to be a micro-endemic, not to be found more widely. The habitat is threatened by tourist activities (hiking, expanding tourist facilities). Moreover, there is illegal collection of

slipper orchid Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera ''Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium'' and ''Selenipedium''. They ...

s that could disturb the habitat. The population occurs within the Gunung Brinchang Forest Reserve.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3192243 yongi Endemic fauna of Malaysia Amphibians of Malaysia Amphibians described in 2009 Nepenthes infauna