Piebald Alpine Toad

The body is relatively large and fat. The male is about 65.4 mm and the female is about 69 mm in body size. The pupils are vertical. The tympanum is not present. The maxilla has short tooth-like protrusions. Round warts are present on the back while no large warts are present on either side of the vent. The whole back is a shady grayish olive green while the belly is a grayish yellowish white. A triangular mark is present in the interorbital region, and the surrounding area is black-brown, extending to the back. The tibiotarsal articulation reaches up to the shoulder. The back legs are short. The fringe on the sides of the toes is relatively well developed. The fourth toe is about 1/3 webbed. The male has nuptial spines on the inner side of each third finger. Large groups of nuptial spines are present on the chest, forming two pairs. The inner pair is black and is larger than the outer pair. The nuptial spines are thin and dense (Fei 1999).

S. maculatus lives at an altitude of 3300 to 3500 meters above sea level, near hill streams or medium to small low gradient spring-fed streams where it also breeds. The surrounding environment is alpine meadows and forest (IUCN 2004).

In August, adults can be found during the day, living beneath stones where the stream flows. If uncovered, S. maculatus does not move (Fei, 1999)[617].

S. maculatus may be extinct as it has not been found since the 1970s. Ongoing agricultural expansion and settlement has resulted in habitat loss for the species. Poor recruitment may also be contributing to the decline while climate change may be a potential threat in the future (IUCN, 2004)[3718].

Scutiger maculatus, the spotted lazy toad or Piebald alpine toad, is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to China where it is known from Garze, northwestern Sichuan and Jiangda, eastern Tibet. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.