#Callulina

[markscherz]

Do you have a favourite rain toad? I love them. They're so round and look grumpy even though they aren't.

Did you know that there are arboreal rainfrogs‽

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Meet the genus Callulina, from the rainforests of Tanzania and Kenya

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Who said you had to be lithe to take to the trees?

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You may not like it, but this is what Peak Performance looks like.

#frog #frogs #animal #animals #rainfrog #rain frog #herpetology #this is what peak performance looks like #could these be the roundest arboreal frogs? #I think it is not unlikely #Certainly an interesting evolutionary choice #turns out you can indeed get you a guy who can do both #Callulina #I can Callulina and baby you can call me Al #on this blog we use 'toad' exclusively to refer to members of the family Bufonidae #bufonids are true toads #what really blew my mind just now is that one species of Callulina (C. meteora) #is pretty clearly a mimic of an arboreal toad (Nectophrynoides viviparus) #which is awesome #because N. viviparus is probably pretty toxic #but I do not know if Callulina are toxic #so I am very curious if the mimicry is Müllerian or Batesian

[frogs-from-bogs]

Callulina dawida, source: x

#Anura #Brevicipitidae #Callulina #Callulina dawida #frog #frogs #animal #animals #biology #nature #wildlife #amphibian #amphibians #zoology #herpetology #herps #fauna

[toadschooled]

That’s quite a tall perch for someone of such smallness! This is Hansen’s warty frog [Callulina hanseni], a species native to Tanzania and Kenya. There are just nine species in the genus Callulina, most of which have only been discovered or identified in the last decade or so. This specimen was found in Nguru, Tanzania, by Dr. Joachim Nerz.

#hansen's warty frog #frog #herps #amphibians #animals #nature

[frogs-are-awesome]

Callulina sp. by Stephen Zozaya Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania.

#Callulina #warty frogs #brevicipitidae #rain frogs

[libutron]

Undescribed Warty Frog of the genus Callulina found in Tanzania

The Brevicipitidae family is a group of highly rotund frogs from Africa that usually have burrowing lifestyles and a highly characteristic appearance, with a bulbous body and tiny head. They started to evolve separately from all other modern amphibians about 65 million years ago, at a time when the dinosaur abruptly became extinct. This makes them as different from all other amphibians as whales are to giraffes! 

The genus Callulina, commonly known as the “warty frogs”, diverged 40 million years ago within the Brevicipitids – this intra-family split therefore occurred about 5 million years before the origin of monkeys. 

For nearly 100 years since the discovery of the first warty frog (Callulina kreffti), this genus was presumed to be monotypic (containing only a single species). However, currently there are nine species described into the genus.

The nine nominal species in the genus Callulina, are almost entirely restricted to submontane and montane forest of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and in southern Kenya, six of which are classified as Critically Endangered, and one is listed as Endangered.

The specimen pictured, found this 2014 in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania, does not correspond to any of the described species and it could be a new species.

References: [1] - [2] - [3] - [4]

Photo credit: ©Stephen Zozaya | Locality: Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania (2014) | [Top] - [Bottom]

#nature #animals #warty frog #callulina #new species #tanzania #fauna #wildlife #frog #amphibia #anura #brevicipitidae #zoology #original

[toadschooled]

The lovely jade eyes and earthen tones of Callulina dawida, also known as the Taita warty frog. These frogs are named for the Taita Hills in south-eastern Kenya to which they are endemic. Males of this species are a little over half the size of females, and typically begin calling around July and August. Images by John Measey.

#taita warty frog #frog #herps #amphibians #animals #nature

[toadschooled]

The Krefft’s secret frog [also known as Krefft’s warty frog, Callulina kreffti] is a small microhylid found in the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and southern Kenya. These frogs are commonly found among leaf litter and under rocks, and tend to be reclusive. Images by Simon Tonge.

#krefft's secret frog #frog #herps #amphibians #animals #nature

[toadschooled]

A Mazumbai warty frog [Callulina kisiwamsitu] photographed in the West Usambara Mountains by Luke Mahler and Breda Zimkus. These frogs were only recognized as being part of a species complex in 2004, and were taxonomically separated from Callulina kreffti, though they’re likely still comprised of 2 or more separate species in need of further classification. 

#mazumbai warty frog #frog #herps #amphibians

[toadschooled]

The Mazumbai warty frog [Callulina kisiwamsitu] is an endangered little forest dweller endemic to Tanzania. They’re known to be threatened by logging and human expansion, though a reliable estimate of their population is currently unknown. Images by Specie Animali Tanzania.

#mazumbai warty frog #frog #herps #amphibians

[frogs-are-awesome]

Krefft's warty frog (Callulina kreffti) by Stephen Zozaya East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.

#frogs #animals #anura #callulina #warty frogs #rain frogs #Brevicipitidae