''Leptobrachium hasseltii'' (Hasselt's toad, Java spadefoot toad, Hasselt's litter frog, Tschudi's frog) 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 ...

found in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. This frog named after Dutch Naturalist

Johan Conrad van Hasselt Johan Conrad van Hasselt (occasionally Johan Coenraad van Hasselt; 24 June 1797 in Doesburg – 8 September 1823), was a Dutch physician, zoologist, botanist and mycologist. Conrad van Hasselt studied medicine at the University of Groningen. In ...

. According to the current understanding, this species is known with certainty only from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

(also the type locality),

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, and

Kangean Islands The Kangean Islands or simply Kangean ( Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Kangean'') is a collective name for a group of islands lying to the east of Madura. Kangean (the main island) and its surrounding islands lie to the north of Bali in the nort ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The species is also commonly reported to occur in the Philippines (Palawan, Mindoro, Bohol, Basilan, Mindanao islands), but these are believed to refer to another, unnamed species. As ''Leptobrachium hasseltii'' is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of genus ''Leptobrachium'', populations from many areas were first referred to as conforming with this species, only to be later recognized as separate species. This applies, for example, to '' Leptobrachium hainanense'' from

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

and ''

Leptobrachium liui ''Leptobrachium liui'', the Chong'an moustache toad or Pope's spiny toad, is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae. It is Endemism, endemic to southern and southeastern China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland ...

'' from the mainland China, and '' Leptobrachium smithi'' from Thailand and Burma.

Description and habitat

''Leptobrachium hasseltii'' has a large head that is wider than the body and with large eyes with a scarlet coloured iris, tips of digits round and webbed at the base, and smooth skin. Adults are dark above, patterned with darker circles, with a white ventral surface with black blotches. Juveniles are bluish in color. Females are larger ( snout-vent length) than males ( SVL). ''Leptobrachium hasseltii'' inhabits the forest floor litter of montane and lowland rainforests. Tadpoles live in quiet pools and ponds. The species is threatened by deforestation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q663268 Amphibians of Indonesia Endemic fauna of Indonesia Amphibians described in 1838