''Nectophrynoides pseudotornieri'' 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

Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru rang ...

in eastern Tanzania. Common names pseudo forest toad and false Tornier's viviparous toad have been proposed for it. Its specific name refers to its similarity to '' Nectophrynoides tornieri''.

Description

Males grow to and females to in snout–urostyle length, corresponding to 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 several ...

and the

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). Of ...

, respectively. 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 ...

s are present but indistinct. The tympanum is absent. The fingers and the toes are partially webbed and have truncated discs on their tips. The dorsum is rough with small tubercles and is tan to golden in colour, with darker markings. Sometimes there are golden flecks on the sides. The lower surfaces are cream, with some dots under the throat. The eyes are golden.

Habitat and conservation

''Nectophrynoides pseudotornieri'' occurs in montane rainforest (considered submontane by Menegon and colleagues) of the eastern slopes of the northern part of the Uluguru Mountains 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 ...

. It probably is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

as other ''Nectophrynoides'', giving birth to tiny toadlets. This species is restricted to a single location within the Uluguru North Forest Reserve. Though this gives it some level of protection,

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 ...

occurs inside the reserve and is threatening this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1942048 pseudotornieri Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Amphibians described in 2004 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot