''Xenophrys lekaguli'' 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

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 Southeast Asia and is known from the

Chanthaburi Chanthaburi ( th, จันทบุรี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in the east of Thailand, on the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi District. The town covers t ...

and

Sa Kaeo Province Sa Kaeo ( th, สระแก้ว, ) is one of the 76 provinces (''changwat'') and lies in eastern Thailand about 200 km from Bangkok. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Prachinburi, Nakhon Ratcha ...

s in eastern Thailand and from the

Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains ( km, ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ, ; th, ทิวเขาบรรทัด, ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range ...

in Pursat Province, western Cambodia. The

specific Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the fina ...

name commemorates Thai zoologist and conservationist Dr

Boonsong Lekagul Boonsong Lekagul (15 December 1907 – 9 February 1992) was a Thai medical doctor, biologist, ornithologist, herpetologist,Boelens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Uni ...

Description

''Xenophrys lekaguli'' is a medium-sized ''Xenophrys'', the female having a body length of up to , the male up to in snout–vent length. The upper parts are light brown with darker markings, the flank is yellowish and the underside pinkish. The legs have black spots. The bluntly pointed snout projects distinctly beyond the lower

jaw The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...

. The species is most similar to ''

Xenophrys auralensis ''Xenophrys auralensis'' (Aural horned frog; km, កង្កែបស្នែងឱរ៉ាល់, ) is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to Cambodia where it is only known from Phnom Aural, the highest mountain of C ...

'' and ''

Xenophrys major ''Xenophrys major'' 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 b ...

'' but can be distinguished from the former by the smaller size of the male and the presence of teeth on the

vomer The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxill ...

and from the latter by lacking a pale stripe above the mouth and having a patterned (as opposed to plain) eyelid. The slender

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 ...

has the mouth shaped like an upturned funnel, which is typical of the genus.

Habitat and conservation

''Xenophrys lekaguli'' occurs near cascade streams in hilly evergreen and evergreen-bamboo 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 ...

. They can be typically found on boulders, leaf litter or bare soil within from the stream banks. This species can occur in slightly disturbed habitats. It is threatened by habitat loss and modification caused by (selective) logging and agriculture. It is present in a number of protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28026226 lekaguli Frogs of Asia Amphibians of Cambodia Amphibians of Thailand Amphibians described in 2006 Taxa named by Bryan Lynn Stuart Taxa named by Yodchaiy Chuaynkern Taxa named by Tanya Chan-ard Taxa named by Robert F. Inger