''Nectophrynoides poyntoni'', also known as Poynton's forest toad, is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat m ...

. 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 the

Udzungwa Mountains The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and is only known from its type locality in the Mkalazi Valley. This species is only known from a single collection in 2003 and has not been seen ever since, despite targeted searches. Therefore, it is feared that it has strongly declined and might already be extinct.

Etymology

The specific name ''poyntoni'' honours , a South African herpetologist whose work has "greatly improved the understanding of the amphibians of Tanzania".

Description

Adult males measure and adult females, based on two specimens only, in snout–urostyle length. The snout is short. The eyes are prominent. The tympanum and tympanic annulus are present. The

parotoid gland The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collective ...

consists of two parts, the anterior and posterior part; the anterior part is formed by a row of small glands, while the posterior half is large and bean-shaped. The finger and toe tips are rounded. The fingers have no webbing while some webbing is present between the toes IV and V. Dorsal ground colour varies from brown to light brown. There are two black stripes running from the tips of the snout to the scapular region. The dorsum may have scattered and variable dark blotches. The lower surfaces are grey. The male advertisement call consists of pulse trains about one second long, with an interval of about 2.5–3.5 seconds. The dominant frequency is about 2.9 kHz.

Habitat and conservation

The type locality is moist submontane rainforest, close to a stream, 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 ...

. The specimens could be found specimens at night on leaves above the ground, while during the day they hid on the ground, under fallen trees and coarse wood debris. Males call near streams mainly after sunset, but may start already late afternoon. Breeding strategy of this species is unknown, but like other members of its genus, it is probably a live-bearer giving birth to tiny toadlets. In 2003 ''Nectophrynoides poyntoni'' was reasonably common within its tiny range. However, later targeted searches have failed to see or hear any individuals, suggesting a population decline, or perhaps even that it is already extinct. The forest habitat of this species is declining due to wood extraction. The type locality is within the

Udzungwa Mountains National Park Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a national park in Tanzania with a size of 1,990 km2 (770 miles2). The habitats contained within the national park include tropical rainforest, mountain forest, miombo woodland, grassland and steppe. There ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704922 poyntoni Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Amphibians described in 2004