Frogs of Borneo.

Description

Meristogenys amoropalamus is a small slender frog belonging to the M. jerboa species group. Males measure from 32.2 to 38.3 mm SVL; a female measured 61.3 mm. The head is subtriangular with elevated eyes and the snout is blunt with sharp canthi. The tympanum is distinct. The tongue has a deep notch and lacks papillae. Weak vomerine teeth are present in small oblique groups. Dorsal skin is finely granular; in contrast, the side of the trunk is coarsely granular. While the limbs are strongly rugose, the chest and abdominal are weakly rugose. The throat is smooth. Males have paired subgular vocal sacs and a visible pineal spot.

Fingers are slender, with Fingers I and II shorter than the rest. Tips have expanded discs with circummarginal grooves, and the discs of Fingers III and IV are larger than those of other fingers. Toe discs are similar in size and shape to the finger discs. Feet are webbed but webbing does not extend to the disc of the fourth toe, and the web is partially excised between the fourth and fifth toe. There is a narrow fringe of skin along the inner edge of the first toe. There is a small, rounded, elevated outer metatarsal tubercle and an elliptical inner metatarsal tubercle. In males, distinct nuptial pads cover the dorsal and medial surfaces of the first finger, from the base to the subarticular tubercle.

In life, M. amoropalamus is light brown dorsally with dark spots on the trunk. The loreal region has a dark streak below the canthus. A well-demarcated blackish-brown band runs from behind the eye almost to the insertion of the arms, diverging above the tympanum. The light brown upper lip has small light spots while the lower lip is heavily barred. The top half of the iris is golden, and the bottom half is reddish-brown. Limbs are barred. The posterior of the thigh is light brown with sparse irregular white spots. The throat and chest are whitish with some tiny dark melanophores. The abdomen is whitish. Ventral surfaces of the leg are also whitish, with numerous dark melanophores.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Indonesia, Malaysia

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

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

This species is found in Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), and Indonesia (northern Kalimantan) (IUCN 2008). It is associated with clear, rocky streams running through montane forests, ranging from 1000m to 2000m asl (IUCN 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Ova are larger and lighter in color than those of the other members of the species group (measuring 2.2 mm in diameter and light-colored for M. amoropalamus versus 1.5 mm with a much darker animal hemisphere for M. jerboa, M. phaeomerus, M. poecilis and M. orphnocnemis. Larvae have been found clinging to submerged rocks in the rapids of clear streams and feed on plants attached to rocks (IUCN 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities

Comments

The specific name is derived from the Greek word amoros, meaning incomplete, and palame, meaning web, referring to the toe webbing. This species was first described by Matsui (1979) as Amolops sp. A.

References

IUCN (2008). 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 7 February 2009.

Matsui, M. (1979). ''Amphibians from Sabah. I. Systematic and natural history notes.'' Contributions from the Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, 25, 303-346.

Matsui, M. (1986). ''Three new species of Amolops from Borneo (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae).'' Copeia, 1986, 623-630.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2014 Meristogenys amoropalamus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4808> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 25, 2024.

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

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