Description
Adults have been measured at 37.2-39.5 mm snout-vent length (Dring et al. 1990; Leong and Lim 2004). The dorsum is black with uninterrupted red to deep orange dorsolateral stripes that start at the snout tip and continue to the posterior (Dring et al. 1990). Rana siberu also has yellow colored spots on the lips, limbs, and lower flanks (Dring et al. 1990). The throat is darkly pigmented with scattered light spots (Leong and Lim 2004). The first finger is longer than the second and fingers are not fringed (Dring et al. 1990). Toes are webbed and fringed with fleshy ridges, except for the outer edge of the fifth toe (Dring et al. 1990). An oval inner metatarsal tubercle and a round outer metatarsal tubercle are present (Dring et al. 1990). Males have enlarged humeral glands, paired subgular vocal sacs, and lack nuptial pads (Dring et al. 1990). Females have whitish asperities scattered sparsely on the dorsal surface and thickly around the vent (Leong and Lim 2004).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Indonesia

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Rana siberu is found in areas below 700 m asl on Siberut Island, one of the Mentawai Islands (Dring et al. 1990), as well as Sumatra (provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, Bengkulu, West Sumatra and Lampung), Indonesia (Iskandar and Colijn 2000; Iskandar and Mumpuni 2004; Brown and Guttman 2002). It has also been found in one locality in Peninsular Malaysia: the catchment area of Sungai Temir, within the Lakum forest reserve, Raub, Pahang (Leong and Lim 2004). It may occur more widely in both Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia (Iskandar and Mumpuni 2004). This species is generally found in riparian habitats in lowland forests (Dring et al. 1990). However, the Malaysian specimen was collected at the edge of a temporary forest pool in a swampy area, away from streams (Leong and Lim 2004).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The mating call consists of a series of 10-22 notes which last 2.22-5.95 seconds per note. Each note is composed of 7-8 pulses lasting approximately one-tenth of a second. Males may make a tweeted type-two call (Dring et al. 1990).

Females lay unpigmented eggs (Dring et al. 1990).

Trends and Threats
This species does not appear to be common (Iskandar and Mumpuni 2004); records are sparse and a survey by Sidik of the northwest part of Siberut Island (2008) did not find this species. Habitat loss is a threat with forests being cut down to make room for oil palm plantations. Pollution of breeding habitats may also be contributing to the decreasing numbers (Iskandar and Mumpuni 2004).

This species occurs within at least four protected reserves in Indonesia (Siberut, Gunung Leuser, Kerinci-Seblat and Barisan-Seblat National Parks) and one in Malaysia (Lakum forest reserve) (Iskandar and Mumpuni 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Local pesticides, fertilizers, and pollutants

References

Brown, R. M., and Guttman, S. L. (2002). ''Phylogenetic systematics of the Rana signata complex of Philippine and Bornean stream frogs: reconsideration of Huxley’s modification of Wallace’s Line at the Oriental–Australian faunal zone interface.'' Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 76, 393-461.

Dring J., McCarthy C., and Whitten A. (1990). ''The terrestrial herpetofauna of the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.'' Indo-Malayan Zoology, 6, 119-132.

Iskandar, D. T., and Colijn, E. (2000). ''Preliminary checklist of Southeast Asian and New Guinean herpetofauna. I. Amphibians.'' Truebia, 31 Supplement, 1-134.

Iskandar, D., and Mumpuni (2004). Hylarana siberu. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 February 2010.

Leong, T. M., and Lim, B. L. (2004). ''Rana siberu Dring, McCarthy & Whitten, 1990 - A first record for Peninsular Malaysia (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae).'' The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 52(1), 261-263.

Sidik, I. (2008). ''An inventory of reptiles and amphibians in north-west of Siberut Island, West Sumatera.'' Zoo Indonesia, 17(2), 35-48.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Pulchrana siberu: Siberut Island Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5150> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 2, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 2 Jan 2025.

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