Kaloula pulchra (Grey, 1831)
Family: Microhylidae Malaysian Narrow-mouthed Toad Status: Potential Colonizer Description: A small to medium sized squat frog with a small head and short limbs. The ground color is generally a shade of brown brown and there are two tan to orange wavy edged dorsolateral stripes that extend from the eye to the groin and often connect between the eyes. Females are larger than males and may reach 75 mm SVL (Inger and Steubing 2005). When disturbed this frog can inflate itself considerably. Biology: Kaloula pulchra is an inhabitant of disturbed and human modified environs. It can be particularly common near towns and cities. It emerges in large numbers after heavy rains to breed. While its diet is composed mostly of ants it will occasionally ingest other small vertebrates as well (Inger and Steubing 2005). Distribution: This species occurs from northeast India through south and south-east Asia and into China. It has been introduced to Taiwan (IUCN redlist) as well as Singapore, Borneo, and Sulawesi (Lever 2003). It is included in this book due to its prevalence in human modified habitats in areas with a lot of traffic to the Mariana Islands and a similar climate In 2003 a single individual was found in Guam on a cargo plane arriving from Thailand (Christy et al. 2007). Christy, M.T., C.S. Clark, D.E. Gee, D. Vice, D.S.Vice, M.P. Warner, C.L. Tyrell, G.H. Rodda, and J.A. Savidge. 2007. Recent Records of Alien Anurans on the Pacific Island of Guam. Pacific Science 61 (4) 469-483. |