''Werneria tandyi'', also known as Tandy's torrent toad or Tandy's smalltongue 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 western

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and known from

Mount Manengouba Mount Muanenguba (also spelled Manenguba or Mwanenguba) is a volcano in the Southwest Province of Cameroon. The Manenguba shrew and endemic vegetal species are native to the mountain. The area is featured in the documentary ''The Mists of Mwaneng ...

and from the

Rumpi Hills The Rumpi Hills are an undulating mountain range with its highest peak, Mount Rata about located between the villages of Dikome Balue and Mofako Balue, Ndian division in the Southwest region of Cameroon. The hills are situated at 4°50’N 9°0 ...

. 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 ...

''tandyi'' honours Robert Mills Tandy, biologist, herpetologist, and wildlife photographer.

Description

''Werneria tandyi'' is a relatively slender-bodied ''Werneria''. Males grow to and females to 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 head is straight and pointed.

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 and

tympani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

are absent. The toes have traces of webbing. The back is dark chocolate-brown, while the flanks are very dark brown to black and separated from the back by thin, white dorsolateral lines that are well-delineated. The venter is clear brown to yellowish gray with tiny white or yellow spots.

Habitat and conservation

''Werneria tandyi'' lives by fast-flowing streams in submontane forest and degraded secondary habitats 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 ...

. Several individuals have been found clustered together on rocks in the splash zone of waterfalls during the breeding season. The

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 develop in the streams. Previously, ''Werneria tandyi'' was common on Mount Manengouba, but it has not been observed there after 2010. The decline is similar to the ones caused by

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extincti ...

in other montane amphibians, though the cause remains unproven. Only one individual ever has been observed on the Rumpi Hills. The species is also likely to be 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 ...

(loss of forests) caused by agriculture and human settlements. It might occur in the

Rumpi Hills Wildlife Reserve The Rumpi Hills Wildlife Reserve is a reserve in the Rumpi Hills in western Cameroon. This site is in area. The reserve was originally created in 1941. The hills are late tertiary volcanic rocks. Fauna include elephants, chimpanzee, drill and ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1942316 tandyi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Amphibians described in 1972 Taxa named by Jean-Louis Amiet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Cameroonian Highlands forests