Mertensophryne howelli (common name: Mrora forest toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the coast of Tanzania and known from the Mafia Island and Zanzibar. The species is named after professor Kim Howell for his contributions to the herpetology of Tanzania.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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starts withThe holotype, an adult female, measured 44 mm (1.7 in) in snout to vent length and 41 mm (1.6 in) in snout to urostyle tip length. The male paratype measured 31 mm (1.2 in) in snout to urostyle tip length. The maximum reported female snout–vent length is 45 mm (1.8 in) and clutch size 60 eggs.
The top of the head is flat, as typical for species of the formerly recognized genus Stephopuedes. Parotoid glands are flattened and broad. Dorsal and lateral skin of head and parotoid region are densely covered with sharply pointed, light-tipped spines, which are especially densely packed on canthus and lateral edge of eyelids. Spines on loreal region are fewer and smaller. Colouration is generally dark brown, with a light upper lip and snout tip and a light middorsal line over the urostyle.