''Chaperina'' is a genus of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. ...

. It is the only genus in the subfamily Chaperininae. It is also itself

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by the single species, ''Chaperina fusca'', commonly known as the brown thorny frog, spiny-heeled froglet, and saffron-bellied frog. It is found on the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

, in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

and in the Philippines (

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, and

Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...

islands). It is abundant in Borneo but uncommon on the Malay Peninsula and patchily distributed in the Philippines.

Description

''Chaperina fusca'' are small frogs: males measure in snout–vent length and females . They are black above with minute white, light blue, or greenish spots. The skin is smooth with scattered tubercles; they have a sharp dermal projection on elbows and heel. These frogs are active after rainfall on forest floor and low vegetation; they are good climbers.

Habitat and conservation

Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are primary lowland and montane rainforests as well as edge habitats; it has also been found in rural gardens. It breeds in small, temporary water bodies rich in decaying organic matter. Threats to this species include deforestation, habitat conversion to agriculture, and pollution.

References

External links

Sound recordings of ''Chaperina fusca'' at BioAcoustica
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10745780, from2=Q729865, from3=Q28777047 Microhylidae Monotypic amphibian genera Amphibians described in 1892 Fauna of Brunei Amphibians of Indonesia Amphibians of Malaysia Amphibians of the Philippines Amphibians of Thailand Amphibians of Borneo Taxa named by François Mocquard Taxonomy articles created by Polbot