Bornean_flat-headed_frog
Bornean flat-headed frog
Species of amphibian
The Bornean flat-headed frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis) is a species of frog in the family Bombinatoridae.[2] Although many salamanders are lungless, the Bornean flat-headed frog is the first frog known to have no lungs.[3]
Djoko Iskandar, an Indonesian zoologist, first described the Bornean flat-headed frog based on a single specimen.[4] However, he did not know the frog was lungless until he was in the field with David Bickford's expedition. Bickford et al. were able to dissect some of the specimens and discovered for the first time that the frogs had no lungs. The frog breathes entirely through its skin, and its internal organs (the stomach, spleen and the liver) take up much of the space which normally would be filled by the lungs. By retaining the lunglessness of their tadpole stage, the frogs are much flatter than typical frogs, which might help absorb oxygen and avoid being swept away in fast streams.[3]