Scientific name: Wolterstorffina parvipalmata (Werner, 1898)
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered listed by IUCN in 2019
Population: insufficient data: decreasing population (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2019)
Distribution: Native to Nigeria (Eastern Nigeria, Obudu Plateau, and the Oban Hills), Cameroon (Western Cameroon, Rumpi Hills, Mount Kupe, Mount Manengouba, Mbos Cliffs), and Equatorial Guinea (Bioko).
FACTS
Wolterstorffina parvipalmata has a close related cousin native only to Cameroon; Wolterstorffina chirioi (Boistel and Amiet, 2011; Bone and Gvoždík, 2017). The size of the males of W. parvipalmata are 24- 27 mm, while the females are 30- 35 mm , W. chirioi is bigger to W. parvipalmata, as the males’ size are 30- 31 mm, and the females are 41-44 mm as reported by Boistel and Amiet (2011)
Habitat:
The species is confined to a montane forest of closed-canopy near streams, and small waterfall (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2019)
Reproduction:
There is inadequate knowledge about his reproduction and biology, but they are reported to have a large egg (~2.5 mm) (Blackburn et al., 2017)
EXTINCTION REALITIES
Climate change, Habitat loss (Bone and Gvoždík, 2017), indiscriminate use of chemicals and pesticides, and introduction of invasive species in their habitat (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2019)
WHAT IF, THE ANIMAL GO INTO EXTINCTION?
Amphibians generally play an important role in the food chain, by being a source of food to some other species and by feeding on insects, thereby controlling the insect population which could have caused pest to Human and crop, and controlling the spread of diseases through feeding on insects that may serve as parasitic host
There is an urgent need for conservation action: targeted towards the study of the biology and relationship of the species in the Environment
REFERENCE
Blackburn, D.C., Brecko, J., Stanley, E.L. and Meirte, D. (2017). Observations on the reproductive biology of Laurentophryne parkeri (Laurent, 1950) based on the holotype, Herpetology Notes. 10: 681-683
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2019). Wolterstorffina parvipalmata. The IUCN RedList of Threatened Species 2019: e.T54899A16925972. doi.10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T54899A16925972.en
Boistel, R. and Amiet, J.L. (2011). Une nouvelle espèce de Wolterstorffina (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) de l’étage afro-subalpin du Mont Okou (Cameroun), Alytes. 18 (3-4): 127-140
Bone, T.M.D., and Gvoždík, V. (2017). The Amphibians of Mount Oku, Cameroon: an updated species inventory and conservation review, ZooKeys. 643: 109–139