Amphibians

Amphibia

Around 9 species of amphibians have been recorded in Arabia, belonging to three families: Bufonidae, Hylidae and Ranidae. Bufo is a Latin word for toad representing the name of the genus. The natural habitats of this species are near ponds, streams or other moist locations. Bufo arabicus Heyden, 1827, is the scientific name of the toad's species in the Bufonidae family. Approximately seven species of Bufo are found in Arabian Peninsula, and most of them are endemic. The following is a brief of the species: Arabian toad Sclerophrys (Duttaphrynus) arabica Distribution Northwestern Saudi Arabia south along the western mountains south to Yemen; isolated population in northeastern Oman and adjacent United Arab Emirates. Oman Toad Duttaphrynus dhufarensis Distribution Western mountains from vicinity of Mecca (Saudi Arabia) south, as well as southern peripheral Arabia, including Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Masirah I.; Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Green toad Bufotes (Pseudepidalea) variabilis Distribution Greece, Cyprus, and east through Turkey to Syria and Lebanon (and possibly south through Israel and Jordan through western Saudi Arabia to Yemen, although these populations are currently questionably assigned to this species), thence east through Iraq to Iran, and north-northwest through the Caucasus through Russia to Kazakhstan; isolated population in Denmark, adjacent northern Germany and southern Sweden. Tihamah toad Sclerophrys tihamica Distribution Southern Hadramaut of the Arabian Peninsula, from south of Mecca (Saudi Arabia) to region of Aden (southern Yemen). Eurasian Marsh Frog Pelophylax ridibundus Distribution Central Europe east of northeastern France, north to southern shore of Baltic Sea (and extreme southern Finland), south to extreme northeastern Spain, northern Italy and the Balkans including eastern Greece; east to ca. 81° E in Asiatic Russia, south to western Iran ()and Afghanistan. Isolated populations in the high Asir region of of western Saudi Arabia, and oases of eastern Saudi Arabia; introduced into England and Italy. Arabiab tree frog Hylafelix arabica (Hyla savignyi) Distribution Two allopatric and molecularly distinctive populations: 1) Highlands of Yemen north to the Asir Mountains of southwestern Saudi Arabia, and 2) southwestern Syria, northeastern Israel, and the western highlands of Jordan. Arabian skittering frog Euphlyctis ehrenbergii Distribution Hadramaut of southwestern Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen); introduced into Riyadh, east-central Saudi Arabia. African Green Toad Bufotes boulengeri Distribution North Africa from Western Sahara and Morocco east through Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, to Egypt; island of Lampedusa, Sicily, Italy; populations in western Arabia south from southern Israel and Jordan to Yemen may be assignable to this species . Suia Hadramaut Toad "Bufo" hadramautinus — Portik and Papenfuss, 2015, BMC Evol. Biol., 15 (152): 11. Excluded from Bufo and unassigned to genus. Distribution Known only from the type locality (Suiamountain, Hadramaut, Yemen). Comment There is dispute over the taxonomic status of this spesies whether it is a synoname of Sclerophrys (Duttaphrynus) arabica. Numerous Arabian species need further studies on the molecular level to clarify the status of this species, References: http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia123/index.php/ http://www.iucnredlist.org/