What’s new: Recent expeditions in Vietnam and China have unveiled two new species of toads with teeth: the Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad and the Yanyuan toothed toad. These toads, characterized by an unusual row of tiny teeth on the roof of their mouths, belong to the rare Oreolalax genus, known mainly from the two countries. With these discoveries, there are now 21 known toothed toad species.
What the studies say:
Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad: In August 2023, conservationists were on a challenging hike up Mount Po Ma Lung in Vietnam, in search of the Sterling’s toothed toad (Oreolalax sterlingae), the only known toothed toad species from the country at the time. On their way back from the summit, the team came across a unique-looking toad along a popular tourist path. The amphibian had dark stripes on its limbs, multicolored spots all over its body, eye-catching bicolored iris — and a row of teeth on the roof of its mouth. The researchers named it Oreolalax adelphos in a recently published study. The species name adelphos is Greek for “brother,” in acknowledgment of its shared habitat with the Sterling’s toothed toad.
Yanyuan toothed toad: In June 2023, researchers were on a field survey in the Hengduan Mountains in China’s Sichuan province, when they found a brown toad in a stream. The new-to-science amphibian, now named Oreolalax yanyuanensis after Yanyuan county where it was found, is covered in black spots, has a smooth belly, light yellow or orange iris, and prominent teeth, the researchers report in a recent study.
What this means:
More than half of the 19 previously known toothed toad species are considered threatened due to habitat loss or degradation, logging, tourism development, and invasive species. The new discoveries highlight the importance of preserving the toads’ mountain habitats, researchers say.
The forest habitat of the Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad, for example, is under threat from fuelwood collection for tourism and the presence of cardamom plantations at the base of the mountain, according to a press release by the Zoological Society of London. Researchers are still evaluating the conservation status of this toad, but its “brother” O. sterlingae is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Banner image: A new-to-science frog species from Vietnam identified as the Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad (Oreolalax adelphos). Image courtesy of ZSL.