In misty mossy elfin forest Elfin Mountain Toad discovered

Elfin Mountain Toad

Horned mountain toad which is the smallest of its species – and is already considered endangered found in Southern Vietnam's elfin forest.

A  tiny one-inch toad with engrossing horn-like projections above its eyes, would there be any better place to do so other than in an elfin forest? For that, a group of zoologist exploring the elfin forest on Langbian Plateau, Southern Vietnam, should feel rather blessed.

The setting in question is a upland wet semitropical evergreen forest – one which the newly discovered elfin mountain toad (Ophryophryne elfina) calls home. The name, apropos, translates to "elfish eyebrow toad." The wee toad lives on spot higher than 6000 feet in an area near the sea where rainfall is ample.

According to poetic press statement, "Both the rocks and the dwarf curbed trees are covered with a heavy layer of moss, whilst a thick misty fog is constantly lingering amongst the trees. This is why such wet mountain ecosystems are known as elfin forests."

But the bad newsfor the elfin mountain toad and all of its sect in southeast Asia, habitat loss is an large threat and the amphibians of the region appear to be particularly unsafe to habitat shift. Husking, habitat loss and modification are continued threats in southern Indochina, ones that even mythological elfish eyebrow toads may be powerless to avoid.