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| Narrowmouth Litter Frog, Calluella smithi (Barbour and Noble, 1916) inhabits the forest floor of primary rainforests. It is a poorly known species, with females reaching at least 39 mm in total length. This specimen was collected in the Danum Valley of Sabah, Malaysia (Island of Borneo). |
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| Savanna Narrowmouth Frog, Elachistocleis ovalis (Schneider, 1799) is a tropical savanna dwelling frog of Amazonia. This specimen was photographed in Trinidad. They call from flooded agricultural areas in June and July. The amplexing pair was found in shallow water. These little frogs can be found in flooded agricultural areas, as well as forest edge environments. On wet nights they may be seen frequently moving cross roads. And, of course they may also be found under debris that has ant or termite colonies. |
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| Forest Narrowmouth Frog, Elachistocleis surinamensis (Daudin, 1802) also occurs on Trinidad. This specimen was calling from a stump hole in a closed canopy forest. It is distinguished from E. ovalis by the orange patch in the inguinal area and the lack of mid dorsal stripe. Females of this frog may reach 48 mm, males are somewhat smaller. These frogs are remarkably similar in appearance to E. ovalis, but have a distinct call and a different habitat. |
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| The Eastern Narrowmouth Toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis (Holbrook, 1835). Photographed in Gainesville, Florida. These small frogs live in moist habitats with cover, frequently using logs, boards, and rocks. They range from Maryland to Florida and westward to east Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. They have been introduced to Puerto Rico, and some other Caribbean Islands. Like other microhylids they tend to feed mostly on ants. |
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| The Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad , Gastrophryne olivacea (Hallowell, 1856). Photographed in West Texas. It ranges from Nebraska and central Missouri southward through Oklahoma, Texas, and westward to Arizona, and then southward along the coastal plain to Nayarit, Mexico. It also occurs in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí. Adults reach 41 mm. It uses a variety of habitats ranging from desert, and creosote bush flats, grasslands, and forests from sea level to 1500 m. |
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| The Asian Bullfrog, Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831, is widespread in eastern Asia. It is a disturbed habitat specialist and a human commensal. Males frequently call from drain pipes. Females reach 73 mm, males reach 67 mm in total length. The tadpoles are unusual in that they apparently don't feed during the two weeks of development. They probably derive their nourishment from yolk provided by the female in the egg. This photo was taken in Hat Yai in southern Thailand. |
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| The Indochinese Balloon Frog, Glyphoglossus molossus Gunther, 1869 has long been placed in the family Microhylidae, but recent work has questioned this. It inhabits Myanmar, Thailand, (probably Cambodia), Vietnam, and Laos. It apparently spends much its time below ground and emerged only after an exceptionally heavy rain. This specimen was photographed in Thailand's Khorat Basin, at the Sakaeret Biosphere Reserve. It was found at night after a heavy rain. Local people collected this frog in large numbers, grilled them on sticks, and sold them as frog kabobs from roadside stands. |
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| Southeast Asian Narrowmouth Frog, Kalophrynus pleurostigma Tschudi, 1838 inhabits rainforests floors from peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra to the Philippines. This specimen is from the Danum Valley in Sabah (Island of Borneo). It apparently uses temporary pools of water on the forest floor for reproduction. Females reach 60 mm, males reach 50 mm. |
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| The narrowmouth toads are circumtropical with a few species extending their distribution into temperate zones of North America and Asia. Most of them are small, with the smallest being 10-12 mm and the largest about 105 mm. Most terrestrial species are short and squat with short legs that are better for walking or running than for jumping, but the arboreal and scansorial species have longer legs and expanded toe tips for climbing. While aquatic eggs and tadpoles are found in some species, many have direct development so that when the eggs hatch the young are non-feeding tadpoles that undergo metamorphosis in the nest. It seems likely these frogs are polyphyletic and hypotheses about their relationships to other frogs are changing. As a group they tend to be burrowers and feed on ants and termites and some have symbiotic relationships with spiders and scorpions. |
