‘Dwarf’-like creature found lurking near temple in Thailand. It’s a new species
As night blanketed southern Thailand, a “dwarf”-like creature with “long” fingers moved along a swampy area near a temple. Its “golden” eyes scanned the surrounding forest, but it wasn’t the only one looking around.
Passing scientists noticed the “stout” animal — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers visited several sites in central and southern Thailand between 2020 and 2024 as part of a project to survey the region’s biodiverse wildlife, according to a study published Oct. 1 in the peer-reviewed journal Herpetozoa.
During their searches, researchers encountered several vaguely familiar-looking frogs, the study said. At first, they identified the frogs as a known and widespread species.
But as they analyzed the animals more, they noticed more and more distinct features.
Eventually, researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Ingerophrynus chrysolophus, or the golden-crested dwarf toad.
Golden-crested dwarf toads have “stout” bodies reaching about 1.6 inches in length, researchers said. Their “large and wide” heads have black eyes with a “dense golden” web-like pattern. Their arms are “long and slender,” while their legs are “robust and short.” Their “long” fingers have “blunt” tips.
Photos show the bumpy texture and “light brown” coloring of the new species. Its back has a “prominent, symmetrical pattern of stripes,” the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after the ancient Greek words for “gold” and “crest” because of the “characteristic golden-orange” ridges on its head.
Several golden-crested dwarf toads were found at night in “swampy areas” of a “slow-moving, shallow stream” in the forest near a temple, the study said. Other toads were seen in mountain forests, “heavily disturbed bamboo forests and rubber plantations.”
One male of the new species was heard calling and making “a series of high-pitched, frequent hooting to the human ear superficially resembling a call” of a grasshopper, cricket or other insect, researchers said.
Golden-crested dwarf toads have been found in a large portion of Thailand as well as nearby regions of Myanmar and Cambodia, the study said. This wide geographic range “gives reason to believe that concerns about (the new species’) extinction are minimal.”
The new species was identified by its call, body size, texture, body proportions, skeleton, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. The new species had at least 5% genetic divergence from related species.
The research team included Dmitriy Arkhipov, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Goutam Sarker, Vladislav Gorin, Andrey Bragin, Tan Van Nguyen, Amir Hamidy, Mohd Abdul Muin, Nia Kurniawan, Rafe Brown, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, Eric Smith and Nikolay Poyarkov.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 11:37 AM with the headline "‘Dwarf’-like creature found lurking near temple in Thailand. It’s a new species."
