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Bufotes latastii

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Bufotes latastii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Bufotes
Species:
B. latastii
Binomial name
Bufotes latastii
(Boulenger, 1882)
Synonyms
  • Bufo latastii Boulenger, 1882
  • Bufo siachinensis Khan, 1997
  • Pseudepidalea latastii (Boulenger, 1882)

Bufotes latastii, commonly known as the Baltistan toad, Ladakh toad or vertebral-banded toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae.[1][2][3] It is found in the West Himalayan region at altitudes of 780–3,200 m (2,560–10,500 ft) from northern Pakistan to Ladakh in India; although sometimes reported elsewhere, this is the result of misidentifications of other species.[4] It is found in alpine forests, coniferous forests, grasslands, paddy fields, mountain desert and roadsides. It often lives near water, like lakes and ponds, in the riparian growth.[1][4] It can be beneficial to humans as it feeds on insects and their larvae within areas of agriculture.[3]

It is generally fairly common,[4] and not considered threatened by the IUCN, although locally declining due to habitat loss (logging), pesticides, and other sources of pollution.[1]

Description

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Adult B. latastii have a snout–vent length of about 4.5–6.2 cm (1.8–2.4 in).[3][5]

Description from "Fauna of British India":[6]

Crown without bony ridges; snout short, blunt; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid; tympanum very distinct, half the diameter of the eye. First finger not extending beyond second; toes two-thirds webbed, with double subartieular tubercles; two moderate metatarsal tubercles; a tarsal fold. The tarsometatarsal articulation reaches the tympanum or the hinder border of the eye. Upper parts with irregular, depressed, distinctly porous warts; parotoids moderate, kidney-shaped; a parotoid-like gland on the calf. Olive above, spotted or marbled with blackish; a light vertebral band; beneath more or less spotted or marbled with blackish.

Illustration from "Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata in the collection of the British Museum" (1882)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2022). "Bufotes latastii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T54687A3018337. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T54687A3018337.en. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  2. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Search for taxon: Bufotes latastii". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "AmphibiaWeb - Bufotes latastii". amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  4. ^ a b c Litvinchuk, S.N.; D.V. Skorinov; G.O. Mazepa; L.J. Borkin (2018). "Distribution of Bufotes latastii (Boulenger, 1882), endemic to the Western Himalaya". Alytes. 36 (1–4): 314–327.
  5. ^ Dufresnes, C.; et al. (2019). "Fifteen shades of green: The evolution of Bufotes toads revisited" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 141: 106615. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106615. PMID 31520778. S2CID 202573454.
  6. ^ Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.