Description
Philautus leitensis is a treefrog found exclusively in the Philippines. Philautus leitensis can be characterized through its pointed snout, nostrils that are closer to the tip of the snout instead of the eye. It has an indistinct tympanum, with a supratympanic fold, and a row of tubercles throughout the outer edge of its forearm. Its fingers are absent of webbing, while toes have webbing. Its gular region is smooth, but its abdomen is granular (Beukema 2011).

Accounts also reveal that it is closely related to Philautus acutirostis found in Mindanao. Brown et al. (1963) state that samples collected from Bohol show that these two species exhibit only a few morphological differences like color pattern on the ventral side as well as the degree of toe webbing, but do not elaborate on what the specifics of those differences.

There is an extensive brown area in the ventral surface of its lower leg (Beukema 2011).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Philippines

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Philautus leitensis is found in Bohol, Leyte, and Mindanao in the eastern Philippines. It is found in lowlands of tropical forests and montane forests. It could also inhabit areas adjacent to the forests (Arvin et al. 2004).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Philautus leitensis is predominantly terrestrial; other behaviors are still unknown (Arvin et al. 2004).

Larva
This is a direct developer (Arvin et al. 2004).

Trends and Threats
There is a continuous trend of declining population for this species due primarily to effects of agriculture including crops and livestock, as well as logging and settlement of humans in their habitats. Human imposed threats to its preferred forest habitat limit their population growth (Arvin et al. 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Urbanization

Comments
Boulenger was the first person to describe Philautus leitensis in 1897 (Arvin et al. 2004), originally naming it Ixalus leitensis(Brown 2006).

References

Beukema, W. 2011. Herpetofauna of disturbed forest fragments on the lower Mt. Kitanglad Range, Mindanao Island, Philippines. SALAMANDRA. 47.2: 90-98.

Brown, R. 2006. Introduction: Robert F. Inger’s systematics and zoogeography of Philippine amphibia. The University of Kansas, Lawrence. Accessed on 17 June 2013 from http://www.nhm.ku.edu/rbrown/Rafes%20PDF%20publications/Brown.2007.IngerIntro.pdf

Brown, W.C. and Alcala, A.C. (1963). ''A New Frog of the Genus Cornufer (Ranidae) with Notes on Other Amphibians Known from Bohol Island, Philippines.'' Copeia, 4, 672-675.

Diesmos, A., Alcala, A., Brown, R., Afuang, L., Gee,G., Hampson, K., Leonida, M. D., Mallari, A., Ong, P., Ubaldo, D., and Gutierrez, B. 2004. Philautus leitensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. .

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Philautus leitensis: Leyte Tree Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4425> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 27, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 27 Jan 2025.

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