Limnonectes fragilis

The skin is relatively smooth and easily broken, with a discontinuous row of narrow warts from behind the eye to the back, but no dorsal folds; the back of the body is brown-red, with black spots on the edges of the upper and lower lips, a W-shaped black spot in the middle of the back, and some individuals have a light-colored ridge; there are 3-4 black horizontal spots on the back of the limbs; the ventral surface is light yellow, with small brown spots on the throat and ventral surface of the hind limbs.

Endemic to China, distributed in Hainan (Haikou, Qiongzhong, Lingshui, Baisha, Yanzhou, Ledong, Sanya, Dongfang, Changjiang, Wanning).

Lives in small streams in mountainous areas at an altitude of 290-900m. Breeds from February to August; tadpoles live on the bottom under or between rocks.

The appearance is very similar to the Banna big-headed frog (Limnonectes bannaensis). From the geographical distribution point of view, the crispy big-headed frog is only distributed in Hainan Island, China; the Banna big-headed frog is distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi and the western edge of Guangdong, China.

     

The crispy big-headed frog lives in a gentle shallow stream in the mountainous area at an altitude of 290-900 meters. The stream is mostly filled with pebbles or stones of different sizes. The water is clear, and the flow is small and shallow. It mostly flows between stones. There are tall trees or bushes on both sides of the stream. The frog mostly moves between or under stones. It is agile and has strong jumping ability. If it is slightly disturbed, it will immediately use its hind legs to stir up waves, and then drill under or between stones. It must be caught quickly after turning over the stones, but because the frog has thin skin, tender flesh and brittle bones, if it is caught with a little more force, it will cause skin breakage or even fractures.

Due to the decline in the ecological environment quality of the habitats in the distribution area of the crispy big-headed frog and over-catching, its population has decreased.

Listed in the second level of the "List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China".