Common Name: Brown Tree Toad, Hose’s Tree Toad, Asian Yellow-spotted Climbing Toad, Malayan Brown Toad, Boulenger’s Asian Tree Toad
Scientific Name: Rentapia hosii
Family: Bufonidae – True Toad family
Location: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand
Female Size: 3.5 – 4.1 inches (89 – 105Â mm)
Male Size: 2 – 3.1 inches (50 – 80 mm)
As the name suggests, the Brown Tree Toad isn’t your typical fossorial toad that spends most of its time burrowed down in the ground. These toads are arboreal, spending their life up in the trees near clear forest streams. The female toads are brightly colored, generally with yellow markings on their body. Meanwhile, male toads are a boring brown color. The toads can be found in the pet trade. If you are considering buying one as a pet, read my article Preparing for a Pet Frog / Toad first.
Though an arboreal species, the toad still comes to the ground to mate. The male toads call out to attract female toads. Once the female toad arrives and selects her mate, the two head towards a nearby pool or the stream to mate. The male frog grasps her from behind and under the armpits in axillary amplexus. Then, the female toad lays her eggs and the male toad fertilizes them. She lays around 4000 eggs. After mating, the toads leave and provide no care for their offspring. The eggs hatch into tadpoles that will eventually complete their metamorphosis and transform into toads.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Brown Tree Toad as Least Concern for Extinction. This is due to the toad’s wide range and large population. However, the clearing of forests in Southeast Asia to make room for more palm oil plantations is a threat to the toad and all animals in the region.