Kuhl's Creek Frog

Fascinating facts about the Kuhl's Creek Frog

• A 2010 DNA study split what was once called Kuhl's creek frog into at least 16 look-alike lineages, showing that the name was hiding a hidden family of frogs.
• Scientists have already lifted nine of those lineages out of the Kuhl’s umbrella, naming them L. fujianensis, L. bannaensis, L. nguyenorum, L. quangninhensis, L. jarujini, L. taylori, L. isanensis, L. megastomias, and L. sisikdagu.
• The original specimen that defined Limnonectes kuhlii was collected on the island of Java, and that island remains the only place we can be sure the “true” Kuhl’s creek frog still lives.
• Because the frog’s wide-ranging name once covered many hidden species, it includes several distinct lineages.

At a glance

About the Kuhl's Creek Frog

Kuhl's creek frog, also called the large-headed frog, belongs to the family Dicroglossidae. Though once thought to range across Northeast India’s Assam and the broader swathes of Southeast Asia, modern phylogenetic work has narrowed its true home to the island of Java, where the original specimen was collected. A 2010 analysis uncovered at least sixteen genetically distinct lineages masquerading under the same name, revealing a cryptic species complex.

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