Kotagama's toad (Duttaphrynus kotagamai)

Parietal ridges and parotid glands are not much visible in a juvenile

English: Kotagama's toad
Binomial: Duttaphrynus kotagamai/Bufo kotagamai
Sinhala: කොටගමගේ ගෙම්බා[Kotagamage gemba]

Kotagama's toad is an endemic species of frogs found in Sri Lanka. It is nocturnal and lives in covered forests where there is a good canopy layer. Species name of the frog, ‘Kotagamai’ is a patronym honouring Prof. Sarath Kotagama.

Adults of this species can be easily distinguished from other members of Bufonidae family found in Sri Lanka by the prominent inwardly-curved parietal ridges of the head. In a research done by Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando and others (Fernando & Dayawansa, 1994) it is mentioned that the species can be observed on rocky margins of streams, sand banks, vicinity of streams and in the leaf litter of the forest. In the research paper they have mentioned that Sinharaja, Kithulgala and Massana rain forest for distributed locations.

Above photographed ones were also observed in the leaf litter at the Makandawa rain forest, Kithulgala in March and December of 2015. We did not observe any streams very close to the observed location and believed that they have moved to that location from a nearby stream after the metamorphosis. In the IUCN Red List it is in the category of ‘Endangerd’. Habitat loss and human disturbances are said to be the major threat for the existence of this species.

Referances:

• Bufo kotagamai, a new toad (Bufonidae) from Sri Lanka P Fernando, N Dayawansa, M SIRIWARDENA Journal of South Asian natural History 1 (1), 119-124
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm) 2015-4 - http://www.iucnredlist.org
• Manamendra-Arachchi, K. & R. Pethiyagoda (2006): Sri Lankan amphibians [in Sinhala]. – WHT Publications, Colombo.