Conical Wart Pygmy Tree Frog

This frog, Pseudophilautus schmarda, is endemic to the central hills and known from the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, Agra Bopath, Horton Plains and Pedro. It is also called the Sri Lanka bug-eyed frog or Schmarda's shrub frog. It is stout, with males of 18 to 27 mm and females of 20 to 30 mm (based on only two specimens). The upper skin is rough, with glandular folds, warts and horn-like spinules, dark green and red-brown above, with yellow to brown flanks and a yellow chest and belly bearing bright yellow spots (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives mainly in cloud forest at 810 to 2,300 m and has also been recorded in pine and abandoned tea plantations. Juveniles have been seen on the forest floor and adults in the understorey 1 to 2 m up. The female digs a deep hole in the forest floor to lay her eggs. The name honours Ludwig Karl Schmarda. Nationally Critically Endangered (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).