''Barbourula busuangensis'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Bombinatoridae Bombinatoridae is a family of toads found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic. Taxonomy and systematics Fossil specimens of the genus ''Bombina'' are known from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene. The ...

. It is also known under the common names Philippine flat-headed frog, Palawan flat-headed frog, Busuanga jungle toad, Busuanga disk-tongued toad, and Philippine aquatic frog. 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 else ...

to the

Busuanga Busuanga, officially the Municipality of Busuanga ( tgl, Bayan ng Busuanga), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,617 people. History Oral tradition has it ...

Culion Culion, officially the Municipality of Culion ( tgl, Bayan ng Culion), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,213 people. Culion consists primarily of Culion ...

Balabac Balabac Island is the southernmost island of the Palawan province, and therefore the westernmost undisputed island in the Philippines, only about north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the island forms the main ...

, and

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

islands in 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 ...

. It is an inhabitant of clear-water streams and 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 ...

Description

''Barbourula busuangensis'' is a large aquatic species of frog. Its body is flattened dorso-ventrally and its nostrils and eyes are located at the top of its head. It has no external

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 ...

. Both fore and hind limbs are robust and powerful and the digits of the hands are webbed as well as those of the feet. The surface of the body is covered with fine

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s. This frog is a dark greenish-black in colour with some faint pale green hatching and spotting on the hind limbs.

Distribution and habitat

This frog is endemic to the western Philippines where it is present on

, and

. Its typical habitat is fast-flowing, unpolluted streams in lowland tropical forests at elevations below asl. It often floats on the surface, but is very wary and dives to the bottom and hides if it is disturbed.

Breeding

Little is known of the breeding habits of this rare species and

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 ...

s have not been observed. Pregnant females have been found with a small number of large, unpigmented eggs. This led researchers to hypothesize that development may be direct without an intervening tadpole stage. Attempts to get the species to breed in the laboratory have been unsuccessful.

Status

The IUCN lists this frog as "

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

". The reasons given are that it occurs in a few locations, its populations are fragmented, and its numbers are declining. The main threats it faces are degradation of its habitat, changing agricultural practices, quarrying, mining and pollution of the streams with runoff from agricultural land.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q977377 Barbourula Amphibians described in 1924 Amphibians of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Palawan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble Taxa named by Edward Harrison Taylor