Blyth's river frog | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Dicroglossidae |
Genus: | Limnonectes |
Species: | L. blythii |
Binomial name | |
Limnonectes blythii (Boulenger, 1920) |
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Synonyms | |
Rana macrodon var. blythii Boulenger, 1920 |
Rana macrodon var. blythii Boulenger, 1920
Blyth's river frog, Blyth's frog, giant Asian river frog, or (ambiguously) giant frog, Limnonectes blythii, is a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae family found from Myanmar through western Thailand and the Malay Peninsula (Malaysia, Singapore) to Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia). Earlier records from Laos and Vietnam are considered misidentifications.
Blyth's river frog is a large frog. Females grow to a snout–vent length of 90–260 mm (3.5–10.2 in) and males to 85–125 mm (3.3–4.9 in). Large adults can weigh more than 1 kg (2.2 lb). The skin is smooth on the dorsum, with or without scattered tubercles or longitudinal skin folds. They are brownish, grey, or yellowish above and white or yellowish below. They may or may not have a vertebral stripe on their backs.
These frogs inhabit streams with gravel and rocks in primary and secondary evergreen forest. Males build a nesting hollow in a sandy stream bed area, and the tadpoles develop in streams. They can also be found far away from streams.
The major threat to this species is collection for food, both for local consumption and for trade. It is also locally impacted by habitat loss.
Limnonectes blythii (subadult) - Khao Sok National Park