Blyth's river frog (''Limnonectes blythii''), also known as Blyth's frog, giant Asian river frog or (ambiguously) giant frog, is a species of
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
in the family
Dicroglossidae
The frog family Dicroglossidae occurs in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, with most genera and species being found in Asia. The common name of the family is fork-tongued frogs.
The Dicroglossidae were previously considered to ...
found from
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
through western
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula 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 ...
(
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
) to
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
(
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
). Earlier records from Laos and Vietnam are considered misidentifications.
Description
Blyth's river frog is a large frog. Females grow to a snout–vent length of and males to . Large adults can weigh more than . The skin is smooth on the dorsum, with or without scattered tubercles or longitudinal skin folds. They are brownish, grey, or yellowish above and white or yellowish below. They may or may not have a vertebral stripe on their backs.
Habitat
These frogs inhabit streams with gravel and rocks in primary and secondary evergreen forest. Males build a nesting hollow in a sandy stream bed area, and the tadpoles develop in streams. They can also be found far away from streams.
Use and conservation
The major threat to this species is collection for food, both for local consumption and for trade. It is also locally impacted by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
.
Gallery
Image:Limnonectes blythii, Blyth's river frog (subadult).jpg, Limnonectes blythii (subadult) - Khao Sok National Park
Khao Sok National Park ( th, เขาสก, ) is in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Its area is 461,712 rai ~ , and it includes the Cheow Lan Lake contained by the Ratchaprapha Dam. The park is the largest area of virgin forest in southern T ...
References
External links
Amphibian and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia - ''Limnonectes blythii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2702010
Limnonectes
Frogs of Asia
Amphibians of Myanmar
Amphibians of Indonesia
Amphibians of Malaysia
Amphibians of Thailand
Amphibians of Borneo
Amphibians of Singapore
Near threatened animals
Near threatened biota of Asia
Amphibians described in 1920
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot