Ansonia minuta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ansonia minuta |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| An adult, possibly a male, Sarawak, Malaysia | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification |
Ansonia minuta is a very small type of toad. It belongs to the family Bufonidae. Scientists first described it in 1960 from the forests of Sarawak. People also call it the tiny stream toad or dwarf slender toad. This toad lives only in Borneo, which includes parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Sadly, its home is shrinking due to habitat loss.
How it's Related
Scientists study how different animals are connected. They found that Ansonia minuta is closely related to another toad species that hasn't been officially named yet. It also belongs to a group of toads that includes Ansonia hanitschi, Ansonia spinulifer, and Ansonia platysoma. This helps us understand the toad family tree.
What it Looks Like
Ansonia minuta is one of the smaller toads in its group. Male toads are about 20 to 24 millimeters (less than an inch) long. Females are a bit bigger, growing up to 30 millimeters (about 1.2 inches). These measurements are from their snout to their rear end.
This toad has a slim body and a wide, flat snout. You can see its ear drums, called tympani. Its feet have small amounts of webbing between the toes. The skin on its back has small, rounded bumps, like tiny warts. Its sides and throat have even finer bumps. Male toads have a special pouch, called a vocal sac, on the left side of their mouth. They use this to make calls. The young toads, called larvae, can grow up to 17.2 millimeters long.
Where it Lives
This toad lives only in Borneo. It can be found in western and central Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia. It also lives in nearby western Kalimantan in Indonesia. These toads live in rainforests at heights between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level.
Ansonia minuta spends its life on land. It lives in lowland rainforests. It likes to breed in small, rocky streams that have clear, flowing water. The young toads, or larvae, grow and develop right there in these streams.
Protecting This Toad
The Ansonia minuta toad is currently listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. This means it might become endangered in the future. The main problem it faces is habitat loss. This happens because of logging, which cuts down the forests where these toads live. These toads do not like to live in areas where the forest has been disturbed. Protecting their rainforest homes is very important for their survival.
