Kihansi Spray Toad
Nectophrynoides asperginis Poynton, Howell, Clarke & Lovett, 1999
Also calledSapo-de-kihansi (por) · キハンシコモチヒキガエル (jpn)
The Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis) is a small toad that was endemic to Tanzania. The species is live-bearing and insectivorous. The Kihansi spray toad is currently categorized as extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though the species persists in ex situ, captive breeding populations. Currently, there are an estimate of 6,200 Kihansi spray toads in captivity, a majority in the Bronx Zoo and Toledo Zoo.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
general
From the Latin 'aspergo' meaning spray or sprinkling, referring to the water spray that this species was dependent upon before its extinction in the wild.
African Amphibians
behaviour
In captivity, this species has been observed feigning death and ejecting water from its bladder when disturbed (Lee et al., 2006).
African Amphibians
biology
Nectophrynoides asperginis , the Kihansi Spray toad, is an ovoviviparous species that was known only from the Kihansi River Gorge in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania before it went Extinct in the Wild.
African Amphibians
conservation
The IUCN Red List (2010) categorizes this spcies as Extinct in the Wild because no self-sustaining population exists in the wild, but the species survives in captivity (Channing et al., 2009).
African Amphibians
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
Prior to its extirpation, the Kihansi spray toad was endemic only to a two-hectare (5-acre) area at the base of the Kihansi River waterfall in the Udzungwa escarpment of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania. The Kihansi Gorge is about 4 km (2.5 mi) long with a north–south orientation. A number of wetlands made up the habitat of this species, all fed by spray from the Kihansi River waterfall. These wetlands were characterized by dense, grassy vegetation including Panicum grasses, Selaginella kraussiana clubmosses, and snail ferns (Tectaria gemmifera). Areas within the spray zones of the waterfall experienced near-constant temperatures and 100% humidity. Currently, an artificial gravity-fed sprinkler system is in place to mimic the original conditions of the spray zones. The species' global range covered an area of less than two hectares around the Kihansi Falls, and no additional populations have been located after searching for it around other waterfalls on the escarpment of the Udzungwa Mountains.
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Every page naming Nectophrynoides asperginis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 2422551.