The Mindanao horned frog (''Pelobatrachus stejnegeri'') is a species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

in the family

Megophryidae Megophryidae, commonly known as goose frogs, is a large family of frogs native to the warm southeast of Asia, from the Himalayan foothills eastwards, south to Indonesia and the Greater Sunda Islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, and extending to th ...

. 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

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s, rivers, and intermittent rivers. It is threatened by

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 ...

Taxonomy

Formerly placed in the genus '' Megophrys'', it was reclassified into the genus ''

Pelobatrachus ''Pelobatrachus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Megophryidae. It was formerly synonymized with '' Megophrys'' until 2021, when it was revived as a distinct genus. They inhabit Southeast Asia, namely the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and th ...

'' in 2021.

Habitat

The Mindanao horned frog is only found on the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

in the Philippines. It is mostly found near a fresh water supply when it can lay its eggs or in dense underbrush, leaf litter, or other fallen object covering the ground. The climate of the ecoregion is tropical wet, with temperature and rainfall modified by the elevation, which reaches up to 2,700 meters. The vegetation in this area consists of hill dipterocarp forests, lower and upper montane forest, elfin woodland (mossy forest) and summit grasslands. The area also experiences rainy seasons and frequent monsoons. June–October is the areas monsoon/rainy season, while in December–May there are "trade winds" which bring little rainfall, making it harder for the frog to find suitably wet places to breed.

Diet

The Mindanao horned frog's diet is affected by its homeland in the forests of Mindanao. It will eat most of the insects found in Mindanao, it will also consume snails, spiders, worms, and occasionally frogs that are smaller than itself.Mindanao horned frog (''Megophrys stejnegeri'')
. arkive.org

Threats

The Mindanao horned frog is currently listed as vulnerable on the endangered species scale because its distribution is rather fragmented; it covers an area of less than 20,000 km² and is continuously shrinking due to deforestation. The frog's major threat is presented by humans. The loss of the frogs habitat in the lowland forest, due to logging, is causing the frogs to compete for food, water and space. Also the pollution caused by the agricultural and mine-tailing of humans in the area is causing the mountain streams and rivers to become polluted leaving fewer places for frogs to produce and rear their young. There are many other animal species living on and around the island of Mindanao. There are over thirty-four bird species native to the area, of which more than half, such as the Mindanao scops owl, the Philippine eagle-owl, and the

blue-capped kingfisher Hombron's kingfisher or the blue-capped kingfisher (''Actenoides hombroni'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae endemic to the Philippines and found only on Mindanao. It is one of the most colorful kingfishers in the country having a ...

, prey on the Mindanao horned frog. In addition to the birds, other animals such as snakes and fish prey on the frog and its young, whilst pets, such as cats and dogs, also pose a threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2240645 Pelobatrachus Amphibians of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindanao Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1920