The Bornean rainbow toad, Ansonia latidisca, is a small true toad endemic to Borneo, known only from the Gunung Penrissen range of western Sarawak, Malaysia. It belongs to the genus Ansonia, a group of slender, stream-associated toads found across Southeast Asia, within the family Bufonidae, the true toads. Like other members of its genus, it is a forest specialist rather than a generalist able to tolerate cleared or disturbed ground.
Identification
A. latidisca is a small toad, measuring between 30 and 50 mm in length; the facts box carries the full figure. The species is slender-bodied like other members of its genus, built for climbing and clinging rather than the squat build typical of ground-dwelling toads.
Habitat and range
The species lives in tropical moist lowland forest and rivers, found along streams and on high tree branches. This combination of moisture and height above the forest floor sets it apart from many other Bornean amphibians, which stay closer to the ground or to open water.
Behaviour and breeding
Detailed behavioural and breeding observations for A. latidisca are scarce in the open literature. Like other stream-associated members of the genus Ansonia, it likely depends on the streams within its range to breed, though this has not been confirmed directly for the species.
Conservation
The species’ facts box carries its current IUCN Red List category, Endangered, as recorded by Wikidata. Its known range is limited to a single mountain range in western Sarawak, which leaves the whole population exposed to any single threat affecting that forest, such as logging or other habitat disturbance in the Gunung Penrissen area.
Similar species
Within the genus Ansonia, several other species share the same slender, climbing build and lowland-forest, stream-associated habits. A. latidisca is distinguished from its relatives by its narrow range, restricted to the Gunung Penrissen range of western Sarawak and far smaller than the ranges of more widespread Ansonia species elsewhere on Borneo.