Scutiger boulengeri

Scutiger boulengeri (common names: Boulenger's lazy toad, Boulenger's high altitude toad, Himalayan stream frog, and Xizang alpine toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Nepal, India (Sikkim) and western China (Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai, and Tibet).[2] A healthy population has been found at an elevation of 5,270 m (17,290 ft) in one of the lakes in the Gurudongmar Lake complex in Sikkimese Himalaya.[3] This is one of the highest elevations where amphibians have ever been recorded (Pleurodema marmoratum has been recorded higher at the Andes[4]).[5][6]

Scutiger boulengeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Megophryidae
Genus: Scutiger
Species:
S. boulengeri
Binomial name
Scutiger boulengeri
(Bedriaga, 1898)
Synonyms

Leptobrachium boulengeri Bedriaga, 1898

Description

Scutiger boulengeri males measure about 45–55 mm (1.8–2.2 in) and females about 50–62 mm (2.0–2.4 in) in snout–vent length.[3][7] The head is flat, wider than long and with a rounded snout. The eyes are protruding. The tympanum is indistinct; the supratympanal fold is present. The dorsum is olive or greenish-grey with numerous warts. The ventrum is yellowish. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes have rudimentary webbing.[6]

Tadpoles grow to a length of about 60 mm (2.4 in).[7]

Habitat and conservation

Scutiger boulengeri is an alpine species living near streams and lakes in grassland habitats[1] at elevations of 3,300–5,270 m (10,830–17,290 ft) above sea level.[2][3] They hibernate in loose soil from September to March or April.[3]

Scutiger boulengeri is a very common species but potentially threatened by diversion of water for agriculture, pollution from agrochemicals, and overgrazing. However, it is not considered threatened overall.[1]

References
  1. Ohler, Annemarie; Sanyal, Pranabes; Fei, Liang; Lau, Michael Wai Neng (2004). "Scutiger boulengeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T57607A11661516. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T57607A11661516.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Scutiger boulengeri (Bedriaga, 1898)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  3. Subba, Barkha; Ravikanth, G. & Aravind, N.A. (2015). "Scaling new heights: first record of Boulenger's lazy toad Scutiger boulengeri (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from high altitude lake in Sikkim Himalaya, India" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 7 (10): 7655–7663. doi:10.11609/JoTT.o4325.7655-63.
  4. Seimon, Tracie A.; Seimon, Anton; Daszak, Peter; Halloy, Stephan R.P.; Schloegel, Lisa M.; Aguilar, César A.; Sowell, Preston; Hyatt, Alex D.; Konecky, Bronwen; Simmons, John E. (2007). "Upward range extension of Andean anurans and chytridiomycosis to extreme elevations in response to tropical deglaciation". Global Change Biology. 13 (1): 288–299. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01278.x.
  5. Seimon, Tracie A.; Seimon, Anton (2015). "Comment on "Scaling new heights: first record of Boulenger's Lazy Toad Scutiger boulengeri (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from high altitude lake in Sikkim Himalaya, India" by Barkha Subba, G. Ravikanth & N.A. Aravind (2015)". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 7 (11): 7849–7850. doi:10.11609/JoTT.o4396.7849-50.
  6. Subba, Barkha; Ravikanth, G.; Aravind, N.A. (2015). "Reply to Global high-altitude limits for amphibians by Tracie A. Seimon and Anton Seimon (2015)". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 7 (11): 7851–7852. doi:10.11609/JoTT.o4405.7851-2.
  7. Fei, L. (1999). Atlas of Amphibians of China (in Chinese). Zhengzhou: Henan Press of Science and Technology. p. 80. ISBN 7-5349-1835-9.
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