''Scutiger adungensis'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family Megophryidae. It is only known with certainty from two specimens collected in 1931 from Adung Valley in northern

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 Wells explai ...

, near the border to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

; there are more recent unconfirmed sightings. Common name Adung lazy toad has been coined for it.

Description

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

consists of two adult males measuring in snout–vent length. The head is as broad as it is wide and relatively flat. The snout is rounded. Tympanum is absent. Lateral

parotoid gland The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collective ...

s are present. The limbs are relatively short; the fingers and toes have no webbing. Skin in the upper parts of the body bears pustules, while the limbs are granular. The upper parts are dark, with a darker triangular area between the eyes pointing backward. The lower parts are lighter and without pattern.

Habitat and conservation

''Scutiger adungensis'' occurs in mountain streams (presumably, its breeding habitat) in Adung Valley at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

. There are also more recent sightings from the

Hkakabo Razi National Park Hkakabo Razi ( my, ခါကာဘိုရာဇီ, ; or ) is believed to be Myanmar's highest mountain. The -tall mountain is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia as well. It is located in the northern Myanmar state of Kachin in an outlyin ...

, but no specimens have been collected.

References

adungensis Amphibians of Myanmar Endemic fauna of Myanmar Amphibians described in 1979 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Megophryidae-stub