Bornean Flat-headed Frog

Taxobox
name = Bornean Flat-headed Frog
image
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Anura
familia = Bombinatoridae
genus = "Barbourula"
species = "B. kalimantanensis"
binomial = "Barbourula kalimantanensis"
binomial_authority = Iskandar, 1978
synonyms = The Bornean Flat-headed Frog ("Barbourula kalimantanensis") is a species of toad in the Bombinatoridae family. It is notable as the only frog known to have no lungs, although lungless species have also evolved in the two other amphibian orders caecilians ("Atretochoana eiselti") and salamanders (family Plethodontidae and genus "Onychodactylus").

The frog, no more than convert|70|mm|in|abbr=on|lk=off long, lives in cold, clear, and fast rivers in remote areas of the rainforests of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its natural habitats are rivers in tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss from severe degradation of the river habitats by increased turbity and toxic metals used in mining and other unfortunate consequences of development on the island.

Djoko Iskandar, an Indonesian zoologist, first described the Bornean Flat-headed Frog. cite journal | last = Iskandar | first = Djoko T. | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1978 | month = | title = A New Species of Barbourula: First Record of a Discoglossid Anuran in Borneo | journal = Copeia | volume = 1978 | issue = 4 | pages = 564–566 | id = | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/1443681 | accessdate = | quote = ] However, he did not know the frog was lungless until Bickford "et al." cut eight of the specimens open in the lab. It has the rare characteristic of being an amphibian without lungs, and instead breathes entirely through its skin. Instead, other internal organs (the stomach, spleen and the liver) take up the space which normally would be filled by the lungs. By retaining the lunglessness of their tadpole stage, the frogs are much flatter than typical frogs, which might help absorb oxygen and avoid being swept away in fast streams. cite journal | last = Bickford | first = David | authorlink = | coauthors = Iskandar, Djoko; Barlian, Anggraini | year = 2008 | month = | title = A lungless frog discovered on Borneo | journal = Current Biology | volume = 18 | issue = 9 | pages = R374–R375 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.010 | url = | accessdate = | quote = ]

References

External links

* [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/54444/all Barbourula kalimantanensis] , The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
* [http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/04/07/lungless-frog.html CBC: Gasp! Scientists find first lungless frog]
* http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/1111_1111/1111/7442.jpeg