AmphibiaWeb - Limnonectes phyllofolia
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(Translations may not be accurate.)

Limnonectes phyllofolia Frederick, Iskandar, Riyanto, Hamidy, Reilly, Stubbs, Bloch, Bach & McGuire, 2023
family: Dicroglossidae
subfamily: Dicroglossinae
genus: Limnonectes
Species Description: Frederick JH, Iskandar DT, Riyanto A, Hamidy A, Reilly SB, Stubbs AL, Bloch LM, Bach B, McGuire JA. 2023. A new species of terrestrially-nesting fanged frog (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. PLoS ONE 18(12): e0292598.
Limnonectes phyllofolia
© 2024 Jimmy McGuire (1 of 1)
Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN Red List Status Account
CITES
National Status None
Regional Status None

   

 
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Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Indonesia

 
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Limnonectes phyllofolia is known only from the three sites in central to southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia: Desa Bontomaranu on Gunung Lompobatang, Gunung Balease, and Desa Bontosiri in Bantimurung National Park. They were found between 495 m elevation at Bontosiri to 1173 m on Bontomaranu (Frederick et al 2023). Also, Frederick et al (2023) predicts the frog may occur broadly across the Southwest Peninsula in the lowlands up to 1200–1300 m with the main limitiation being undisturbed rainforest habitat of which there is little outside of Bantimurung National Park.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
This species is only the second known Sulawesi Limnonectes species to exhibit terrestrial egg deposition and male egg-guarding behavior (Frederick et al 2023)

Comments
This species was featured in News of the Week 13 May 2024:

Sulawesi "fanged frogs" (genus Limnonectes) are stream-dwelling dicroglossids that exhibit remarkable divergence in modes of reproduction, body size, prey acquisition, habitat use, and eco-physiology. The Sulawesi Limnonectes assemblage remains understudied, but recent research has identified many cryptic species via phylogenomic, morphometric, and acoustic analyses. Frederick et al. (2023) describes a sixth species of Sulawesi Limnonectes, the terrestrially-nesting species Limnonectes phyllofolia. At least eight additional undescribed species (and possibly many more) have been alluded to in the literature. Sulawesi fanged frogs exhibit 1000-fold variation in adult body mass, with the largest species weighing up to 2 kg; L. phyllofolia represents the smallest species with an average mass of only ~2 grams. Notably, this new species is only the second known Sulawesi exemplar to exhibit terrestrial egg deposition and male egg-guarding behavior, possibly an adaptative response to predation pressure from larger stream-inhabiting Limnonectes species. Males of the new species were observed guarding clutches of 10-20 eggs festooned on the leaves of small bushes or saplings, or on mossy boulders over small side-streams. The authors chose the specific epithet 'phyllofolia' (meaning "leaf nest") to characterize this unique breeding behavior not seen in other Sulawesi fanged frogs. (Jeff Frederick)

References

Frederick JH, Iskandar DT, Riyanto A, Hamidy A, Reilly SB, Stubbs AL, Bloch LM, Bach B, McGuire JA. (2023). "A new species of terrestrially-nesting fanged frog (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia." PLoS ONE, 18(12), e0292598. [link]



Originally submitted by: Michelle S. Koo (2024-05-12)
Distribution by: Michelle S. Koo (updated 2024-05-12)
Comments by: Michelle S. Koo (updated 2024-05-12)

Edited by: Michelle S. Koo (2024-05-12)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2024 Limnonectes phyllofolia <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9819> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 13, 2024.



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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 13 Nov 2024.

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