Near Threatened Amphibian Species - Amphibian Specialist Group

Near Threatened Amphibian Species 635species is potentially threatened by agro-chemical pollution, and also very severe habitat clearance for cultivation oftea, cardamom and other crops, leading to large-scale opening up of the vegetation. It occurs in the Sinharaja ForestReserve (World Heritage Site), Kanneliya Forest Reserve and Kottawa Forest Reserve.Bibliography: Bossuyt, F. and Dubois, A. (2001), Günther, A. (1876), Manamendra-Arachchi, K. and Pethiyagoda, R. (2005)Data Providers: Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, Rohan Pethiyagoda, Sushil Dutta, Anslem de SilvaPolypedates gongshanensis (Yang and Su, 1984)This species is known from the western slope and southern part of Gaoligongshan (Gongshan, Tengchong and BaoshanCounties), in western Yunnan Province, China, and it has also recently been recorded from Puliebadze, in Nagaland,India. It is also likely to occur in Myanmar, but it has not yet been recorded from there. It is a common species. Itinhabits agricultural land in hilly areas, and often occurs near streams, ponds and pools, and in the surroundingbamboo clumps, trees, shrubs and grasses. It lays eggs on leaves above water, and the larvae then develop in thewater below. The major threat to this species is habitat loss due to agricultural development and subsistence woodcollecting. Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve is within the range of this species.Taxonomy: This species was previously placed in the genus Rhacophorus.Bibliography: Ao, J.M., Bordoloi, S. and Ohler, A. (2003), Fei, L. et al. (1999), MacKinnon, J. et al. (1996), Yang, D.-T. (1991b), Yang,D.-T. and Su, C.Y. (1984)Data Providers: Yang Datong, Lu ShunqingPolypedates nigropunctatus (Liu, Hu and Yang, 1962)This species occurs in several widely scattered subpopulations in central and south-western China: Yuexi Countyin Anhui Province; Longling and Pingbian Counties in Yunnan Province; Weining and Leishan Counties in GuizhouProvince; and Sangzhi and Chengbu Counties in Hunan Province. It probably occurs a little more widely than currentrecords suggest. It has been recorded from 600-2,100m asl. It is very rare. It inhabits forest edges, shrubland, paddyfields, stream banks and creeks in hilly areas, and breeds in pools, ponds and ditches near paddy fields. The majorthreat to this species’ habitat is the development of human settlements and associated infrastructure. Its rangeincludes several protected areas.Taxonomy: This species is sometimes placed in the genus Rhacophorus. Its taxonomic status requires further investigation.Bibliography: Chen, B. et al. (1991), Fei, L. et al. (1999), Liu, C.-C., Hu, S.-Q. and Yang, F.H. (1962), MacKinnon, J. et al. (1996), Wu, L.,Dong, Q. and Xu, R.-H. (1987), Yang, D.-T. (1991b)Data Providers: Michael Wai Neng Lau, Yang DatongPolypedates zhaojuensis Wu and Zheng, 1994This species is endemic to southern Sichuan Province and Lichuan County in Hubei Province, China. It is likely to occurmore widely than current records suggest. It has been recorded from 2,000-3,150m asl. It is a very common specieswithin its restricted range. It inhabits hilly areas, and probably lives in forests and breeds in still water habitats suchas pools and ponds. The main threat to this species is habitat loss and degradation, in particular due to farming oflivestock. It is not known if it occurs in any protected areas.Bibliography: MacKinnon, J. et al. (1996), Wu, G. and Zheng, X. (1994)Data Providers: Wu Guanfu, Zheng Zhong HuaRhacophorus baluensis Inger, 1954This species ranges along the mountainous ridge of north-western Borneo, Malaysia, from 1,200-2,200m asl. It canbe locally abundant. It has been seen only in submontane and montane forests. Males gather at small ponds in whichthe larvae develop, in or at the edge of these forests. A possible future threat to the species’ habitat is logging ofupland forests, although at the moment its forest habitat is well protected in its only known localities. It has beenrecorded from Kinabalu and Gunung Mulu National Parks and the Crocker Range. Preservation of montane forests isthe main conservation measure needed for this species.Bibliography: Inger, R.F. (1954), Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997), Malkmus, R. et al. (2002)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, MumpuniRhacophorus bifasciatus van Kampen, 1923This species is known from Mount Kerinci, Barisan-Selatan, Bengkulu, Jambi and Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia. Itprobably occurs more widely than current records suggest. It seems to be uncommon. This species occurs in lowlandand submontane forest, and presumably breeds in water, probably in streams. The main threat is localized forest lossdue to agricultural development (including for non-timber plantations). It occurs in Barisan-Selatan, Kerinci-Seblatand Gunung Leuser National Parks.Bibliography: van Kampen, P.N. (1923)Data Providers: Djoko Iskandar, MumpuniRhacophorus calcaneus Smith, 1924This species is known from the Kon Tum Plateau of southern and central Viet Nam, the limestone region of centralLao People’s Democratic Republic, and the Annamite mountain region and Tam Dao (from referred juveniles), northernViet Nam (Inger, Orlov and Darevsky 1999; Stuart 1999). It is unclear whether or not the patchy distribution representsactual patchy occurrence, habitat specialization or limited survey effort. It has been recorded at altitudes between700 and 1,200m asl in southern Viet Nam, and from 220-600m asl in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Stuart1999). This is a localized but presumably relatively common species in appropriate habitat, as evidenced by fairlylarge series in museums (Inger, Orlov and Darevsky 1999). It is restricted to undisturbed evergreen rainforest, andis generally observed on streamside vegetation (Inger, Orlov and Darevsky 1999). The major threat to this species ishabitat loss due to smallholder and shifting agriculture, fires, and wood collection from the forest. Its range includesa number of protected areas.Bibliography: Bourret, R. (1942), Inger, R.F., Orlov, N. and Darevsky, I.S. (1999), Smith, M.A. (1924), Stuart, B.L. (1999)Data Providers: Peter Paul van Dijk, Nguyen Quang TruongRhacophorus dulitensis Boulenger, 1892This species has been recorded from the northern half of Borneo, including Sabah (Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia),Kalimantan (Indonesia), and Brunei Darussalam. It probably occurs more widely than current records suggest, especiallyin areas between known sites. It has been recorded below 250m asl. This species forms rather large breeding aggregations,suggesting that it is locally abundant. It occurs in flat or hilly rainforests, and forms breeding aggregationsaround forest rain pools and swampy ground. Spawning sites are on the forest floor (Malkmus et al. 2002). The majorthreat to this species is clear-cutting of lowland forest. It is known from a number of protected areas in Borneo, butmore effective protection of lowland forests in other parts of Borneo is necessary.Taxonomy: Specimens of Rhacophorus dulitensis previously reported from Sumatra are now assigned to R. prominanus (Smith 1924,following Harvey, Pemberton and Smith (2002)).Bibliography: Harvey, M.B., Pemberton, A.J. and Smith, E.N. (2002), Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997), Malkmus, R. et al. (2002)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, MumpuniRhacophorus everetti Boulenger, 1894This species has been recorded in Borneo in the mountainous area from Gunung Kinabalu National Park in Sabah toGunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, including Brunei. In the Philippines, it occurs only on the island ofPalawan. It has mainly been recorded from 750-1,800m asl, although in the Philippines several records have comefrom lowland forests at 300m asl. In Borneo, the fact that it has been seen at almost every submontane site wheresampling has been intense, despite its cryptic form, suggests that it is common. It inhabits arboreal microhabitats,usually beside water (such as streams, ponds and rivers) in lower montane and lowland forests. Most individuals havebeen seen perched on moss-covered logs. The major threat to this species in Borneo is deforestation by clear-cutting;in the Philippines, some populations of this species are also threatened by habitat loss. In Borneo and Palawan,several totally protected areas provide refuge for this species.Taxonomy: Taxonomic clarification of the status of the Palawan population in relation to the Bornean population is necessary.Bibliography: Alcala, A.C. and Brown, W.C. (1985), Brown, W.C. and Alcala, A.C. (1994), Frost, D.R. (1985), Inger, R.F. (1999), Inger,R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997)Data Providers: Arvin Diesmos, Angel Alcala, Rafe Brown, Leticia Afuang, Genevieve Gee, Robert Inger, Robert Stuebing, IndraneilDas, Paul Yambun, Maklarin LakimRhacophorus gauni (Inger, 1966)This species is known from across Sabah (Malaysia), central Sarawak (Malaysia), and western and north-eastern Kalimantan(Indonesia) in Borneo, from 750-980m asl. It probably occurs more widely than current records suggest. In someareas it appears to be locally abundant. This species is confined to primary and old secondary hilly rainforests, where itlives in the vegetation lining the banks of small, clear, rocky streams. Foam nests are placed in branches overhangingthese streams and the larvae live in the rocky bottoms of riffles. The major threats to this species are deforestationthrough clear-cutting and the resulting stream siltation (which deprives larvae of feeding sites). It is present in manyprotected areas. Preservation of lowland forest is the main conservation measure required for this species.Bibliography: Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997), Malkmus, R. et al. (2002)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, MumpuniRhacophorus harrissoni Inger and Haile, 1959This species has been recorded from numerous localities in northern Borneo, below 250m asl. It is likely to occurmore widely than current records suggest. It is a common species in suitable habitat. It lives in primary or secondarylowland rainforests, in flat and hilly terrain. Males call singly at breeding sites, which are water-containing holesin the trunks of very large trees. The major threat to the species’ habitat is the rapid pace of clear-cutting of theforest. It has been reported from many protected areas including Kinabalu, Tawau Hills, Lanjak Entimau and GunungMulu National Parks.Bibliography: Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997), Malkmus, R. et al. (2002)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, MumpuniRhacophorus kajau Dring, 1984 “1983”This species has been found below 700m asl in northern and western Borneo, where there are records from Sabah(Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia) and Kalimantan (Indonesia). There is no information on current population status. Ithas been found in primary and slightly disturbed lowland rainforests in fl at and hilly terrain, where it perches on lowvegetation overhanging small, rocky streams or swampy pools, in which it is presumed that the larvae also develop.The major threat to the species is habitat loss as a result of logging. It has been recorded from a number of isolatedprotected areas including Tawau Hills and Gunung Mulu National Park. Expansion of effective preservation of lowlandforest in central Sarawak and Kalimantan is recommended.Bibliography: Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, MumpuniRhacophorus monticola Boulenger, 1896This species is known only from south-western and central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where it is found above 1,000masl. It probably occurs more widely than current records suggest. It is relatively common. It lives in montane forest,including disturbed forest, and breeds in streams. The principal threat to its habitat is encroaching smallholder farming.This species occurs in Gunung Lombobatang Natural Reserve.Bibliography: Iskandar, D.T. and Tjan, K.N. (1985)Data Providers: Djoko Iskandar, MumpuniRhacophorus prasinatus Mou, Risch and Lue, 1983This species is known from Taipei, Ilan and Taoyuan in northern Taiwan, Province of China, from 400-600m asl. Itis a common species. It inhabits orchards, tea plantations, bamboo forests, shrublands and forests in hilly areas,where these habitats are stable. It breeds in tree holes or, in marginal habitats, in cisterns, buckets or water tanksin orchards. The principal threats to this species are habitat destruction and degradation arising from the creation ofplantations and the development of infrastructure for human settlement. Some populations have also disappearedbecause orchards were changed to tea plantations, which generally need frequent pesticide application. Severalprotected areas occur within the range of this species, and it is also a nationally protected species.Bibliography: Chou, W.-H. and Lin, J.-Y. (1997b), Fei, L. et al. (1999), Lue, K.-Y., Tu, M.-C. and Hsiang, G. (1999), MacKinnon, J. et al.(1996), Mou, Y.P., Risch, J.P. and Lue, K.Y. (1983), Yang, Y.-J. (1998)Data Providers: Lue Kuangyang, Chou WenhaoRhacophorus rufipes Inger, 1966This species is known from scattered localities across Borneo in Sabah (Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia), and Kalimantan(Indonesia), below 250m asl. It is locally abundant at some sites. It has been seen only in primary lowland rainforest.The breeding habitat has yet to be recorded, though it presumably breeds in water by larval development. The majorthreat to the species’ habitat is clear-cutting logging of the rainforest. It has been reported from three protected areasincluding Danum Conservation Area and Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary. Expansion of effective preservation oflowland rainforest is essential for the conservation of this species.Bibliography: Inger, R.F. and Stuebing, R.B. (1997)Data Providers: Robert Inger, Djoko Iskandar, Indraneil Das, Robert Stuebing, Maklarin Lakim, Paul Yambun, Mumpuni