The Nankiang horned toad (''Atympanophrys nankiangensis'') is a species 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 ...

in the family

Megophryidae Megophryidae, commonly known as goose frogs, is a large family of frogs native to the warm southeast of Asia, from the Himalayan foothills eastwards, south to Indonesia and the Greater Sunda Islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, and extending to t ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to northern

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and southern

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, China.

Range

It is found in: *Mount Guangwu,

Nanjiang County Nanjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan Province, China, bordering Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shan ...

, northern

(where '' Oreolalax nanjiangensis'' is also found) *

Qingchuan County Qingchuan County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, bordering the provinces of Gansu to the north and Shaanxi to the northeast. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Guangyuan. It has ...

, northern

Wen County, Gansu Wen County or Wenxian () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Longnan, in the southeast of Gansu province, China, bordering Sichuan province to the south and west. It has a land area of 4,994 square kilometers, and ...

Habitat

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 temperate

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s. It inhabits hill streams and surrounding shrubland habitat. It probably breeds in streams like other species of the genus. This species is known from Kuang-wu Shan in Nankiang County and Qingchuan in Sichuan Province, and Wenxian, in Gansu Province, China, from 1,600-1,850m above sea level. It is threatened by

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 ...

. The major threat to this species is

habitat destruction 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 ...

and degradation, especially due to infrastructure development for touristic activities. This species is listed as vulnerable because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 20,000 square kilometers, it is known from fewer than ten locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat in Sichuan and Gansu, China.

References

Atympanophrys Amphibians of China Endemic fauna of China Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1966 {{Megophryidae-stub