Description
Females 33.3-41.7 mm. Head flattened dorsally. Tympanum described as distinct by Günther (1872) but outer rim is not discernible in preserved holotype. Prominent supratympanic fold. Snout angled at 105 degrees, laterally truncated, with sharp canthi and flattened loreal region and internarial region. Vomerine teeth and lingual papilla are absent. Calcar lacking. Supernumerary tubercles on both palm and sole. Fingers have lateral dermal fringe but lack webbing. Medially webbed toes. No tarsal fold. Warty skin texture on anterior dorsum, while the posterior dorsum is smooth. Dorsal forelimb has glandular warts. Smooth granular skin on throat and underside of thigh, and rough granular skin on chest and belly. Flanks and feet are granular (Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda 2005).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Sri Lanka

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Pseudophilautus adspersus was endemic to Sri Lanka. The holotype has the non-specific type locality "Ceylon", while the second specimen was collected at Nuwara Eliya, a resort town and tea-growing area at 1,700-2,500 m in the central mountainous region of Sri Lanka (Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda 2005). The exact habitat that this species required is not known (Stuart et al. 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Only two specimens were collected and the last was recorded in approximately 1886. It has not been rediscovered despite extensive searches and is presumed extinct. Breeding is believed to have been through direct development, as is the case for other members of the genus Pseudophilautus (Stuart et al. 2008).

Trends and Threats
The exact reasons for extinction are not known, but habitat loss due to conversion of land for agricultural use by humans is likely to have been the major factor (Stuart et al 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Intensified agriculture or grazing

References

Günther, A. (1872). ''Descriptions of some Ceylonese reptiles and batrachians, Series 4.'' Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 9, 85-88.

Manamendra-Arachchi, K., and Pethiyagoda, R. (2005). ''The Sri Lankan shrub-frogs of the genus Philautus Gistel, 1848 (Ranidae: Rhacophorinae), with description of 27 new species.'' Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 12, 163-303.

Stuart, S., Hoffmann, M., Chanson, J., Cox, N., Berridge, R., Ramani, P., Young, B. (eds) (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. Lynx Edicions, IUCN, and Conservation International, Barcelona, Spain; Gland, Switzerland; and Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Pseudophilautus adspersus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4385> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 3, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 3 Dec 2024.

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