Frogs of Borneo.

Description
A stocky, frog with a broad head, large eyes, short, slender legs and feet without webbing. Males reach 75 mm SVL with females up to 95 mm SVL. Head, back, and sides are brown or black while the belly is marked with white and black mottling. Individuals from Sarawak may have a gray or white belly without markings (Inger and Stuebing 1997).

The large tadpoles can reach a length of 75-90 mm by the time they metamorphose. Tadpoles are pale brown or straw-colored initially, but gradually darken to a medium brown. Over time, the tadpoles develop black spots on their tails and bodies (Inger and Stuebing 1997), with a black spot always present at the junction of the trunk and tail (A. Haas, pers. comm.).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia

Malaysian region distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Sabah, Sarawak

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Present in Brunei, Indonesia (West Sumatra, Kalimantan), Malaysia (Borneo). This species is uncommon in Sumatra but widespread in Borneo below 1000 meters asl (Inger and Stuebing 1997), especially below 750 meters asl (Inger et al. 2004). It inhabits leaf litter on the floor of primary and secondary lowland tropical moist forest. Tadpoles can be found under rocks in slow-moving small to medium streams with a rocky substrate (Inger et al. 2004; Inger and Stuebing 1997; A. Haas, pers. comm.).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Adult males are solitary; their call sounds like a single, resonant squawking note (Inger and Stuebin, 1997) or "quak" (A. Haas, pers. comm.). Breeding and oviposition take place in small, slow-moving streams (Inger and Stuebing 1997). Tadpoles feed on detritus during development (Inger and Stuebing 1997).

Trends and Threats
This species is declining due to human-induced habitat loss and alteration, from deforestation. In Borneo, tadpoles appear to be abundant in appropriate rainforest stream habitat. It occurs in several protected areas in both Borneo and Sumatra (Inger et al. 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities

References

Inger, R. F., and Stuebing, R. B. (1997). A Field Guide to the Frogs of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo) Limited, Kota Kinabalu.

Inger, R., Stuebing, R., Iskandar, D., and Mumpuni 2004. Leptobrachium abbotti. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 29 October 2010.

“Biodiversity Information Sharing Service (BISS): Leptobrachium abbotti.” http://arcbc.org/cgi?bin/abiss.exe/spd?SID=204697691&spd=197&tx=AM. Asean Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation. 27 Oct. 2005.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2021 Leptobrachium abbotti: Lowland Litter Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/2465> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 25, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 25 Dec 2024.

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