Thai National Parks

Chaperina fusca (common names: brown thorny frog, spiny-heeled froglet, saffron-bellied frog) is a species of frog in the Microhylidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Chaperina.

It is found on the Malay Peninsula (Thailand and Malaysia), in Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei) and in the Philippines (Palawan, Mindanao, and Jolo islands). It is abundant in Borneo but uncommon on the Malay Peninsula and patchily distributed in the Philippines.

Description

Chaperina fusca are small frogs: males measure 18 - 21 mm in snout–vent length and females 20 - 26 mm. They are black above with minute white, light blue, or greenish spots. The skin is smooth with scattered tubercles; they have a sharp dermal projection on elbows and heel.

These frogs are active after rainfall on forest floor and low vegetation; they are good climbers.

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are primary lowland and montane rainforests as well as edge habitats; it has also been found in rural gardens. It breeds in small, temporary water bodies rich in decaying organic matter.

Threats to this species include deforestation, habitat conversion to agriculture, and pollution.

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