''Platymantis biak'', also known as the Luzon limestone forest frog, 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
Ceratobatrachidae
The Ceratobatrachidae are a family of frogs found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon Islands.
Taxonomy
Ceratobatrachidae was formerly treated as a subfamily (i.e ...
. 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 island of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
, 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 ...
, where it is known from the
Biak-na-Bato National Park
Biak-na-Bato National Park is a protected area of the Philippines located almost entirely within Barangay Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan from where it derives its name. The park also extends to the nearby municipalities of San Ildefonso an ...
, its type locality, and from the immediate vicinity of the park. The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''biak'' is Tagalog meaning "crevice" or "crack" and refers to the preferred limestone
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
habitat at the type locality.
Description
Adult males measure and adult females in
snout–vent length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...
. The overall appearance is robust. The head is broader than the body. The tympanum is distinct. The supratympanic fold is smooth. The finger and the toe discs are moderately expanded, larger in the former than in the latter. The dorsum and head are mottled light green, dark green, and black. There is a distinct, black interorbital bar that is anteriorly bordered by lighter, green-brown border. The lower surfaces of the supratympanic fold are black, and there are black canthal and labial blotches by the eye. The dorsum has several large, irregularly distributed black blotches. The dorsal surfaces of the limbs have alternating dark brown and green transverse bars. There is an area of black blotches and cream speckles on anterior portion of flanks. 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 ...
is bordered by copper ciliary ring of
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 enti ...
, sharply blending into predominant mottled gold and brown color pattern of the iris.
Especially female ''Platymantis biak'' are well camouflaged in their limestone habitat.
Habitat and conservation
These frogs have been found perched on top of limestone rocks within large rock formations in the forest and around the entrances to cave systems; males have also been observed up to 5 m inside caves, some perched above ground within depressions and holes in the karst rock walls. They occur at about
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 ...
. Development is probably direct (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage).
This species can be common to abundant in suitable habitat, but its known range is small. There is limestone quarrying and mining in the region in which the species occurs, although this activity is not threatening the known locations, most of which are within the Biak-na-Bato National Park.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3392034
biak
Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...