Lichuan Toothed Toad

The male is 51 mm. The female is 59 mm. This species has vertical pupils. The tympanum is hidden or only slightly obvious. The upper maxillary is developed. The dorsum is covered with loosely distributed tubercles of varying sizes, without spines. These tubercles are encircled with black-brown circular marks. Tibiotarsal articulation extends to the back corner of the eye. The tips of the digits are rounded. The toes have rudimentary webbing, and the sides of the toes are narrowly fringed. Coloration on the dorsum is dark/ shady palm or grayish brown. There is no triangular marking on the interorbital space. The limbs have brownish black bands which are not very distinct. During the breeding season, the male’s skin becomes very loose. The sides of the head, the dorsal surface of the upper arms and the sides of the metatarsus have black spiny clusters. The male also has nuptial spines on the dorsal surface of the first and second finger as well as a pair of spiny clusters on the chest. Spines are thick and sparse. Tadpoles are 72 mm in body length and 45 mm in head length. The dorsum is brownish black. The caudal muscle and the upper caudal fin are also dark in color, with small, thin brownish black dots. At the junction of the body and the tail, there is an arc-shaped, grayish-yellow mark. The labial tooth row formula is I: 5-5/I: 5-5. At the center of the lip, 2-3 papillae are lacking. The corners of the mouth have few additional papillae, which usually have small teeth (Fei 1999).

O. lichuanensis occurs in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Chongqing Provinces, between 1790 and 2300 meters above sea level. It is not commonly found (IUCN 2006)[3767]. This species inhabits brushy areas adjacent to small streams along slopes beneath tall broadleaf forest (Fei 1999).

These toads are terrestrial until the middle of April. During the following 10-day period, adults enter the stream to breed. The female lays approximately 215 eggs that stick to the underside of submerged rocks. Eggs are 3.5-3.8 mm and milky white. The egg masses are ring-like in shape or linked in sheets. Tadpoles disperse in backwater pools or under rocks in quiet streams. They move sluggishly, and if disturbed they will hide in the deep water, in the crevices between rocks (Fei 1999)[617].

The major threat to the species is rapid habitat loss, due principally to logging (IUCN 2006).

Oreolalax lichuanensis (Lichuan lazy toad or Lichuan toothed toad) is a species of amphibian in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to China, and found in south-central parts of the country (Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Male Oreolalax lichuanensis grow to about 51 mm (2.0 in) in snout-vent length and females to about 59 mm (2.3 in). Tadpoles are 72 mm (2.8 in) in length.