Saint Andrew’s Cross Toadlet | Pelophryne signata
Introduction
Singapore is home to 24 species of native anurans, of which 18 species are largely confined to the remnant forests within the protected Central Nature Reserves. This includes the Saint Andrew’s Cross toadlet, Pelophryne signata (Boulenger, 1894), which has only been recorded from a single locality at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR), in the heart of Singapore Island. The last confirmed sightings of the adults of this species were some 18 years ago (Lim, 1990), when two individuals were reported. Despite subsequent attempts to document the breeding behaviour and tadpoles of this particular species locally (Leong & Chou, 1999), no successful observations were obtained till recently. Another vernacular name for this diminutive species is the “lowland dwarf toad”, as referred to by Inger & Stuebing (2005). In Singapore, earlier references to this toadlet used the name “Pelophryne brevipes” instead (e.g., Lim & Lim, 1992; Teo & Rajathurai, 1997; Leong, 2004b). According to Frost (2008), Pelophryne signata was earlier synonymised under Pelophryne brevipes in 1966 by Robert F. Inger, but subsequently revalidated in 1985 by himself! The type locality of true Pelophryne brevipes (Peters, 1867) is actually Zamboanga, Mindanao (the Philippines) and its current recognised distribution is confined to the islands of Mindanao and Basilan. The geographic distribution for true Pelophryne signata includes Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and the Natuna Islands (Indonesia).
Saint Andrew’s Cross Toadlet | Pelophryne signata
Leong, T.M. and Teo, S.C. 2009. Endotrophic tadpoles of the Saint Andrew’s Cross Toadlet, Pelophryne signata (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae) in Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 2: 21-25.: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2009/2009nis21-25.pdf
