Nankiang Toothed Toad

The male and female are both about 57 mm. The pupil is vertical. The tympanum is hidden. The maxillary teeth are developed. The skin of the dorsum is rough and yellow-brown with an even distribution of round, black-brown spots. The dorsum, the sides of the body and dorsal side of the hind legs all have small tubercles. The temporal fold is thin and weak. The ventrum is smooth. The axillary gland is large. The temporal gland is round. The tibiotarsal articulation extends to the eye, the left and right ends meeting or slightly overlapping. The finger and sides of the toe have at most a little fringe. The tips of the fingers and toes are rounded. The base of the toes have only a trace of webbing. The upper and lower border of the lips have light and dark horizontal stripes. The ventrum is black or dark grey. The ventrum and the ventral side of the limbs lack dark spotting. The male has large, thick nuptial spines on the first and second finger. A pair of large, thick spine clusters are present on the chest. No vocal sac is present. The tadpole is 74 mm in total body length and about 28 mm in head length. The dorsum is grayish brown and the tail completely lacks spots. The labial tooth row formula is I: 5-5/I: 5-5. The center of the upper lip lacks one to two papillae. The corners of the mouth have many additional papillae, which possess small teeth (Fei 1999).

>i>O. nanjiangensis has only been found at Mt. Guangwu, in Nanjiangxian county, in Sichuan province. It lives at 1600 m above sea level in or near streams in mountainous regions(IUCN 2004).

Between the middle and end of July, adult toads inhabit the sandy shores of the streams or hide beneath rocks in the shallow water. Some individuals can be found crawling on land. Most toads will become active at dusk, emerging to search for food (Fei 1999).

The size of the population is currently unknown. The major threat to the species is tourism. O. nanjiangensis is especially vulnerable due to its restricted range (IUCN 2004).

Oreolalax nanjiangensis (Nanjiang toothed toad) is a species of amphibian in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to China. It is known from the area of the type locality of Mount Guangwu (光雾山), Nanjiang County, northern Sichuan, as well as adjacent southern Gansu and southwestern Shaanxi. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss associated with tourism.

Male Oreolalax nanjiangensis grow to about 57 mm (2.2 in) in snout-vent length. Tadpoles are 74 mm (2.9 in) in length.