''Bufotes latastii'', commonly known as the Baltistan toad, Ladakh toad or vertebral-banded toad, is a species of

toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * C ...

. It is found in the West

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n region at altitudes of from northern Pakistan to

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

in India; although sometimes reported elsewhere, this is the result of misidentifications of other species. It is found in alpine forests,

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

forests, grasslands, paddy fields, mountain desert and roadsides. It often lives near water, like lakes and ponds, in the

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

growth. It can be beneficial to humans as it feeds on insects and their larvae within areas of agriculture. It is generally fairly common, and not considered threatened by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, although locally declining due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

(logging),

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s, and other sources of pollution.

Description

Adult ''B. latastii'' have a

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

of about . Description from "Fauna of British India":Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.

Crown without bony ridges; snout short, blunt; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid; tympanum very distinct, half the diameter of the eye. First finger not extending beyond second; toes two-thirds webbed, with double subartieular tubercles; two moderate metatarsal tubercles; a tarsal fold. The tarsometatarsal articulation reaches the tympanum or the hinder border of the eye. Upper parts with irregular, depressed, distinctly porous warts; parotoids moderate, kidney-shaped; a parotoid-like gland on the calf. Olive above, spotted or marbled with blackish; a light vertebral band; beneath more or less spotted or marbled with blackish.

References

latastii Frogs of India Amphibians of Pakistan Amphibians described in 1882 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bufonidae-stub