''Odorrana absita'' 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 found in southern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and central

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It was originally described in genus ''

Huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was a credible sighting in 1924. It ...

''. Its type locality is Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area in southern Laos.

Description

Adult males in 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 ...

measure and adult females in snout–vent length (based on respectively 2 and 3 specimens). The overall appearance is moderately slender. The head is narrow and the snout is projecting and obtusely pointed; rounded in lateral view. The tympanum is distinct. The finger and toe tips are expanded to discs; the toes are almost fully webbed. Coloration is dorsally beige with light green flecking; there is pinkish wash on upper sides, forelimbs, and lips. Black spotting is present on the dorsal surface of snout tip, lips, upper eyelids, forelimbs, dorsolateral folds, and flanks. Black streaks run below edge of

canthus The canthus (pl. canthi, palpebral commissures) is either corner of the eye where the upper and lower eyelids meet. More specifically, the inner and outer canthi are, respectively, the medial and lateral ends/angles of the palpebral fissure. Th ...

from tip of snout to eye, obliquely from eye to commisure of jaws, and from eye along supratympanic fold to posterior rim of tympanum, continuing obliquely to shoulder. The limbs have brown crossbars. The venter and undersides of limbs are creamy-yellow. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

is coppery and has a dark red blotch anterior and posterior to the

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

. Males have a subgular

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 ...

Habitat and conservation

This species is known from hilly evergreen and mixed forests 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 is associated with swiftly flowing, clear rocky streams, but specimens have also been recorded away from water. They are typically found above the ground in forest vegetation. Breeding probably involves free-living

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 developing in streams. ''Odorrana absita'' occurs in a number of protected areas. Outside very well protected areas, it is probably suffering from

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 ...

and degradation caused by conversion of forest to agricultural land to grow cash crop plantations such as rubber, coffee, and tea. It is also harvested locally for food.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2246418 absita Frogs of Asia Amphibians of Laos Amphibians of Vietnam Amphibians described in 2005 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot