Palawan Toadlet – Palawan’s most controversial amphibian

     One of the smallest endemic amphibians that inhabit our mossy forest is the Pelophryne albotaeniata Barbour, 1938 or the Palawan Toadlet. It is a semi-arboreal species of small toad in the Bufonidae family. This toadlet is a good climber and its size and color often blends well with the moss covered tree trunks and branches. Although there were several occasions that we found this species during the day, it is largely active at night.

Palawan Toadlet adult size.

     They are small and hard to see. On most occasions, we only found it by following the sound of its calls. We often found the males calling from low vegetations at night. The calls are usually long series of clear, high-pitched ticking notes. There are no other animals in Palawan rainforest that can make sounds or calls like the Palawan toadlet. The best way to know if this species occurs in a certain location is by waiting for dusk and listening for its calls. A toadlet is almost impossible to find during the day when it is hiding in thick leaf litters or moss covered vegetation.

Palawan Toadlet habitat

      The Palawan Toadlet occurs in the mossy forests of Mantalingahan range, Cleopatra’s Needle, Anepahan and Victoria mountain range. I have found one at Mt. Beaufort and I have seen photos taken from an unnamed peak near Mt. Gantung in Sofronio Espanola. I took the photo below at Mount Peel, on the eastern ridge where pitcher plants with Nepenthes alata-like bottom inhabit. This toadlet also thrives at Staveley Range, Thumb Peak and all the lesser peaks of Pulgar Range.

Palawan Toadlet in Mount Peel.

      The Pelophryne albotaeniata is an endemic species that has wide distribution in Palawan. We can't visualize how habitat deforestation and conversion of forest to farming can drastically affect this species because from our own observation, it is thriving mostly at high places where there are no large trees to entice loggers and rocky ridges and peaks where no crops will grow. Some of the best mossy forests where this species thrives are mostly inaccessible to locals, even to some hikers. This toadlet sometimes occur at mid-elevation mostly near large rivers and mountain streams, but was rarely seen. Some Almaciga gatherers of Tagbanua tribe in the western coast believe that toadlets found at lower elevation were carried by flashfloods during the rainy season.

Palawan Toadlet in Cleopatra's Needle.

      This species is largely understudied and further observations are needed before we could truly understand its behavior and biology. A search on the internet reveals little information about this creature and there are unvalidated information that could add more confusion. It is amazing that for forty years this creature was lost to science, but not to locals, tribes and mountaineers. This creature has long been under our noses. It exists in the wild, hopping, ticking and doing its froggy thing as always been. We only need to know where and how to find them.