Appleby's Asian Toad

Diagnosis: Small body size (19.6–20.8 mm SVL for males, 21.7 mm for one female), smooth dark brown dorsum, dark brownish pink venter speckled with white, fingers lacking fringes or webbing, toes with slight basal webbing but no dermal fringes, short tibia (0.466 to 0.480 tibia to SVL ratio).Description: Adult males measure 19.6-20.8 mm SVL. A single adult female measured 21.7 mm SVL. Snout rounded to truncate in lateral view, with rounded canthus rostralis and sloping, concave loreal region. Nostril lies closer to the snout than the eye. Pupil vertical. Distinct round tympanum with weak supratympanic ridge. No vomerine teeth. Broad large tongue, with weak posterior notch. Chest glands are present without forming teats. Short bulky tibia. Fingers have dermal fringes and lack webbing. Tips of fingers are rounded and slightly expanded. Finger I shorter than Finger II. Heightened thenar tubercle not continuous to the thumb. Toes lack dermal fringes and have minimal, basal webbing. Both fingers and toes lack subarticular tubercles. Smooth dorsal and ventral skin, except that the lower region of the eyelid has indistinct tubercles. Males have neither vocal slits nor nuptial pads (Rowley and Cao 2009).The dark brown dorsum may be uniform or mottled, or have an indistinct darker patch between the axillae. The venter is dark brownish pink with white speckles. Lighter indistinct vertical stripes on the tip of snout and under eyes. No interorbital bar is present. Upper lip has dark brown bars. Black stripe runs along the canthus rostralis through the eye to the supratympanic ridge and covering nearly the entire tympanum. Flank has 1-4 black blotches laterally and a large black blotch anterior to sacrum. Limbs may be barred with indistinct, diffuse bands. Elbow is lighter. Iris from gold to reddish copper (Rowley and Cao 2009).

Endemic to Viet Nam. Known from only two localities, 1.3 km apart, in the Song Thanh Proposed Nature Reserve, Phouc Son district, Quang Nam Province, Viet Nam, but probably occurs more widely. Found at the headwaters of rocky streams in medium-elevation montane evergreen forests, from 1300-1500 m ASL. Streams are steep, narrow (less than 2 m wide) and have minimal water flow (Rowley and Cao 2009).

Males call from under leaf litter, about 2 m from the stream; the single female was also found within 2 m of the stream. Call sounds like an insect (orthopteran), with a faint rapid rasping consisting of 4-5 notes, 1-5 pulses per note, 2-7 msec per pulse. Call is repeated at a rate of approximately 9 notes per second. Dominant frequency of 3962.1-4306.6 Hz and harmonics at 7752 Hz. One individual had a small cockroach in its stomach contents. Found in sympatry with L. tuberosus (Rowley and Cao 2009).

Known from only two localities separated by 1.3 km. It may occur more widely; the range as currently known falls within a protected area in Viet Nam, the Song Thanh Proposed Nature Reserve (Rowley and Cao 2009).

Leptolalax applebyi (Appleby's Asian toad) is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to Vietnam where it is only known from near its type locality, Song Thanh Nature Reserve, Phước Sơn District in Quảng Nam Province of central Vietnam.

Leptolalax applebyi is a montane species found near streams. It is a small species even among generally small Leptolalax: five adult males were recorded to measure 20–21 mm (0.79–0.83 in) in snout-vent length and a single female 22 mm (0.87 in) SVL.