''Meristogenys jerboa'' 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 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 elsew ...

to western

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 ...

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 ...

( East Malaysia). Common names western torrent frog, Matang torrent frog, and Gunther's Borneo frog have been coined for it. Many

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

have been separated from this species. Based on

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

, current "true" ''Meristogenys jerboa'' still includes two major lineages. However, because the lineages occur in

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

and do not differ in morphology, Shimada and colleagues elected to treat them as intraspecific variants.

Description

Females can grow to in snout–vent length, males are considerable smaller. In a sample of 32 males and 6 females representing several populations, adult males measured and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is protruding in vertical view. Males have larger tympanum compared to females. Males have a slender body, whereas females are slightly more stocky. The toes are webbed. A black marking surrounds the eye and the tympanum and extends to the flank. The iris is bronze in the upper third and coppery in the lower parts. 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 i ...

s have a large suctorial disk. They are light brown, but can have orange to slightly olive hue. The snout and body are depressed and streamlined. The tail is strong with a pointed tip. The largest tadpoles (

Gosner stage Gosner stage is a generalized system of describing stages of embryonal and larval development in anurans (frogs and toads). The Gosner system includes 46 numbered stages, from fertilized embryo (stage 1) to the completion of metamorphosis (stage ...

s 38–41) reach in total length.

Habitat and conservation

''Meristogenys jerboa'' occurs in rocky streams in lowland and hillside forests. Breeding takes place along rocky streams where the tadpoles cling to the rocks, probably feeding on lithophytic algae. The type locality is within the Matang Forest Reserve, where the species is abundant and not under threat. When the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 ...

(IUCN) assessed conservation status of this species in 2004, it was not known from other localities, but Shimada and colleagues report it from several localities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2243951 jerboa Amphibians of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Borneo Taxa named by Albert Günther Amphibians described in 1872 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians of Borneo