''Scutiger nyingchiensis'' 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 the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

of southeastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

(China), northwestern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, and tentatively,

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. There are no confirmed records from India; earlier records refer to ''

Scutiger occidentalis ''Scutiger occidentalis'' is a species of toad found in the Western Himalayas of Pakistan (Gilgit Baltistan) and northwestern India (Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh). It has often been treated as a synonym of '' Scutiger nyingchiensis'' (by, e.g., IUCN ...

'' or ''

Scutiger spinosus ''Scutiger spinosus'' is a species of toad in the family Megophryidae. It is found in Medog County, Tibet (China) and in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh (India). Prior to its description in 2016, it was confused with '' Scutiger nyingchiensis' ...

''. Its type locality is

Nyingchi Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi ( zh, s=林芝, p=Linzhi) or Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buch ...

, Tibet. It is also known as the Nyingchi high altitude toad, Nyingchi alpine toad, or Nyingchi lazy toad.

Description

A medium-sized ''Scutiger'', adult males of ''S. nyingchiensis'' measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

. Maxillary teeth are present. The toes are webbed. Males lack a

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible Biological membrane, membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the voca ...

Habitat and conservation

The altitudinal range of ''Scutiger nyingchiensis'' is

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

. ''Scutiger nyingchiensis'', in the sense of including ''Scutiger occidentalis'', is an alpine species associated with streams in moist, forested, and grassland habitats in hilly areas. Breeding takes place in low-gradient streams and pools. The eggs are laid under fallen logs or under stones, and the

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s continue their development over the winter. ''Scutiger nyingchiensis'' is locally common but potentially threatened by diversion of water from breeding streams for agricultural use and by water pollution associated with agrochemicals.

References

nyingchiensis Amphibians of Bhutan Frogs of China Amphibians of Nepal Fauna of Tibet Amphibians described in 1977 {{Megophryidae-stub