Red-Spotted Toothed Toad

Red-spotted toothed toad (Oreolalax rhodostigmatus) is a species of amphibian in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to central and south central China.

NaturAL Environment

Red-spotted toothed toad lives in limestone caves in karst areas. Starting from mid-May in 2019, we traveled to southern Sichuan and Chongqing to find this species. The altitudes of these regions range from three hundred meters to more than two thousand meters, and precipitation level is high. A lot of caves and sinkholes can be found here due to the combined action of groundwater and rainwater. The rocks at low altitudes are mostly dark brown mudstone with a fine texture, while at high altitudes, most rocks are made of sandstone.

Gallery 01: Natural Environment of Red-spotted Toothed Toad

Road in Jinfo Mountain in Nanchuan

Inside one of the limestone caves, we found a large number of cave-crickets (Diestrammena japonica), which could be the food of the toads. From the ceiling of the cave, we found some sleeping bats and red droplets made by cave bacteria. When the flashlight shined on the cave walls, the sceneries were very beautiful. A cave like this could be filled with water during the rainy season, and the tadpoles inside the cave could spread out to other locations.

Gallery 02: Inside the Cave

Tadpoles

We found a large number of tadpoles of red-spotted toothed toad in one cave, and several were about to turning into frogs. These tadpoles are particularly large, some are longer than 10 cm. The tadpoles near the cave opening are purple or purple-brown. Further into the cave, the color of the tadpoles becomes lighter. In the areas of complete darkness, the tadpoles become transparent due to lack of color pigments.

Gallery 03: Tadpoles of Red-spotted Toothed Toad

Encountering Red-spotted toothed toad

Finally near the entrance of another cave, we found an adult female in a rock pit. Red-spotted toothed toads might come to the entrance searching for food at night. This toad has blue-violet, translucent skin; it looks like a sapphire on the yellow-brown cave wall. The red spots on the side of its body, a unique feature of this cave-dwelling species, are very striking. This toad is slender and good at climbing, which helps it prey on insects inside the cave. When in danger, it will jump into the water or hide inside a stone crevice.

Gallery 04: Red-spotted Toothed Toad in Natural Habitat

CREDITS

Photographer: Jingling Miao
Assistant: Jiwei Wang
Scientific Consultant: Mian Hou
Producer: Yan Liang