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Ansonia spinulifer

Ansonia spinulifer, also known as spiny slender toad or Kina Balu stream toad, is a species of true toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Sarawak and Sabah, northern Borneo (Malaysia), and presumably also in Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of the island.

Description

Ansonia spinulifer males measure and females up to in snout–vent length. Tympanum is visible. Dorsum has big spinose warts and usually a light spot between the shoulders. The warts are large and have keratinized projections, hence the species name. Tadpoles have the typical sucker mouth of rheophilous Ansonia tadpoles.

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are lowland rainforests at elevations of asl. Adults range widely over the floor and herb stratum in areas of steep terrain, but breeding requires small, clear, rocky-bottomed streams. Males call at night, sitting in low vegetation close to streams. The tadpoles live in torrents; they cling to rocks and feed on lithophytes.

Ansonia spinulifer is common in Sarawak, but it seems not to adapt to habitat modification. It is threatened by habitat loss (deforestation and the associated siltation of streams; plantations).

Breeding habits

During breeding season, male Ansonia Spinulifer attract females by sitting and producing calls from low vegetation at night. Based on the species' stream-dwelling tadpoles and habits of the congener, reproduction occurs near a stream.

References