Microhyla nepenthicola is a species of frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 found in the Matang Range in Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. It is the smallest known frog from the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

. It belongs to the family Microhylidae

Microhylidae

Microhylidae is a geographically widespread family of frogs. There are 413 species in 69 genera and nine subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family.-Description:...

. Adult males of this species have a snout

Snout

The snout, or muzzle, is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.-Terminology:The term "muzzle", used as a noun, can be ambiguous...

-vent

Cloaca

In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, reproductive, and urinary tracts of certain animal species...

 length (SVL) of 10.6–12.8 mm. Tadpole

Tadpole

A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...

s measure just 3 mm. It is one of 30 species in the genus Microhyla

Microhyla

Microhyla is a genus of microhylids, a group of diminutive frogs.- Selected species :...

, 5 others of which live in Borneo.

Habitat and distribution

M. nepenthicola is found near Mount Serapi in Cuba National Park, Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. It spends much of its lifecycle in the traps of the pitcher plant

Pitcher plant

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...

 Nepenthes ampullaria

Nepenthes ampullaria

Nepenthes ampullaria , the Flask-Shaped Pitcher-Plant, is a very distinctive and widespread species of Nepenthes, present in Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, the Maluku Islands, and New Guinea...

, after which it is named. It is therefore considered a nepenthebiont. This is not particularly unusual; in fact, it shares this environment with a species of crab spider

Crab spider

Crab spider is a common name applied loosely to many species of spiders, but most nearly consistently to members of the family Thomisidae...

, Misumenops nepenthicola

Misumenops nepenthicola

Misumenops nepenthicola is a species of crab spider. It lives inside the pitchers of a number of lowland Nepenthes pitcher plants in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. As such, it is classified as a nepenthephile. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt. Males and females both...

, which is also commonly found in Nepenthes

Nepenthes

The Nepenthes , popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids...

pitchers, and is similarly named for this reason. Microhyla nepenthicola has less webbing on its feet than most frogs, which may be beneficial when trying to climb the sides of the pitcher plants, which can be slippery.

Discovery

Frogs of the species that was eventually described as Microhyla nepenthicola had been known to scientists for at least 100 years prior to its description in 2010. However, scientists had always assumed that the frogs were juveniles of another species. Researchers Indraneil Das and Alexander Haas recognized that they were actually adults when they heard the frogs calling in Kubah National Park, since only adult frogs make calls. Adult males call from the pitcher plants at dusk.

The smallest Old World frog species prior to the description of Microhyla nepenthicola was Stumpffia pygmaea

Stumpffia pygmaea

Stumpffia pygmaea is a species of frog in the Microhylidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is known from only two islands, Nosy Be and Nosy Komba. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, plantations , and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened...

, with a snout-vent length of 10.9–12.0 mm.