Amphibians of Laos: The Complete List

Laos’ karst towers, seasonal wetlands and upland forests shelter a surprising array of amphibians that connect rivers, rice paddies and forest food webs. Local communities and researchers continue to document species during wet-season surveys and targeted expeditions across provinces.

There are 97 Amphibians of Laos, ranging from Ailao Mountains Frog to Zig-zag-patterned Frog. For each species, the list shows Scientific name,IUCN status,Range & habitat so you can quickly check where a species occurs and its conservation standing — you’ll find below.

Which species on the list are most threatened and how can I spot them?

Look for species labeled Critically Endangered or Endangered in the IUCN status column; those with narrow ranges in karst or isolated uplands are often highest priority. The Range & habitat column helps identify if habitat loss or restricted distribution is the main risk, and targeted surveys or habitat protection are typical conservation responses.

How current is the information and can I report new observations?

The list compiles recent assessments and published records but some entries may lag behind new surveys; always cross-check with the latest IUCN updates or regional papers. If you have observations, share them with local research groups or citizen-science platforms linked to museum records so experts can validate and update the entries.

Amphibians of Laos

Images and Descriptions

Lao Newt

A striking black and orange newt endemic to Laos, living in and around cool streams in karst landscapes. Its vibrant colors warn predators, but it is threatened by habitat degradation and the pet trade.

Laos Caecilian

A legless, worm-like amphibian that lives underground in moist soil and leaf litter. It’s endemic to Laos but rarely seen, so very little is known about its population status or specific habits.

Kio Tree Frog

A large, spectacular green tree frog with extensive webbing on its feet, allowing it to glide between trees. It has a distinctive white spot below its eye and is often found near forest streams.

Mossy Frog

A master of camouflage, this frog’s bumpy, multi-colored skin perfectly mimics a clump of moss or lichen on a rock. It is a secretive species that lives in flooded caves and rock crevices.

Asian Common Toad

This highly adaptable toad is a common sight in villages and cities, often found under streetlights at night hunting insects. It has prominent bony ridges on its head and warty skin with toxic glands.

Smith’s Litter Frog

A large-headed, stout-bodied frog that blends in perfectly with the leaf litter on the forest floor. It is best known for its incredibly striking eyes, which are bicolored with a black lower half.

Common Tree Frog

Often called the “four-lined tree frog,” though many lack stripes. It is highly adaptable, found in various habitats from forests to backyards, and builds foam nests for its eggs overhanging water.

Ornate Chorus Frog

A tiny frog, often less than an inch long, with a pointed snout and a distinctive dark arrowhead pattern on its back. Despite its small size, it produces a loud, buzzing call after rains.

Banded Bullfrog

A plump, round frog with bold brown and tan stripes. It spends much of its time burrowed underground, emerging during heavy rains to breed. When threatened, it can inflate its body dramatically.

Gyldenstolpe’s Frog

A medium-sized, robust frog belonging to the “fanged frog” group, named for tooth-like projections on the lower jaw. It is common along the banks of slow-moving streams and ponds.

Green Cascade Frog

A beautiful, bright green frog with small black spots and a slender body. It is an excellent jumper, perfectly adapted for life on slippery, mossy rocks in and around mountain rapids and waterfalls.

Laos Warty Newt

A recently discovered and highly threatened newt, known only from a few localities. It has rough, dark skin and a vibrant orange belly, and lives in cool, shaded forest pools and streams.

Annandale’s Spadefoot Toad

A cryptic, forest-floor frog with a large head and massive, dark eyes. Like other spadefoots, it spends much of its time hidden in leaf litter, making it difficult to spot despite its size.

Butler’s Pigmy Frog

A small, slender frog with long legs and a distinctive dark hourglass or violin-shaped marking on its back. It is often found in leaf litter and has a high-pitched, insect-like call.

Big-eared Toad

This toad is named for its very large and distinct tympanum (eardrum), which is located behind its eye. It has prominent cranial crests and is typically found on the forest floor near water.

Giant Asian River Toad

One of Asia’s largest toads, this giant is highly aquatic and lives along the edges of clear, powerful rivers. Its rough, camouflaged skin helps it blend in with river rocks and boulders.

Taylor’s Caecilian

A common but seldom-seen burrowing amphibian. It resembles a large earthworm with a dark purplish-gray body and a distinct yellow stripe along each side, hunting for invertebrates underground.

Chapa Bug-eyed Frog

A rare and poorly understood species of mossy frog, known from high mountains in Laos. It has a rough, tuberculated skin and reddish-brown coloration, likely for camouflage in its specialized habitat.

Annamite Horned Frog

This amazing frog has pointed, horn-like projections above its eyes, which help break up its outline on the forest floor. It is a sit-and-wait predator, ambushing prey from beneath the leaf litter.

Tenasserim Frog

A stream-dwelling frog with a slender body and large, fully webbed feet with prominent toe pads. These features allow it to navigate fast-flowing water and cling to slippery rocks in mountain cascades.

Hasselt’s Litter Frog

A common forest frog that is more often heard than seen. Its call is a single, loud “quack” that can be difficult to locate. It has cryptic brown skin and large, dark eyes.

Pointed-headed Frog

A bizarre, almost perfectly round frog with a tiny, pointed head. It is a fossorial species, spending most of the year underground and emerging explosively to breed in temporary pools after the first heavy rains.

Common Puddle Frog

A small, highly aquatic frog with smooth skin and a somewhat flattened body. It is almost always found in or very near water, such as in ponds, ditches, and flooded rice paddies.

Inornate Froglet

A small, secretive, narrow-mouthed frog with a pointed snout and a generally plain brown coloration. It hides in leaf litter or under logs and is most active after rain.

Jerdon’s Bullfrog

A large, voracious frog with a massive head and powerful legs. It is often found in wetlands and agricultural lands, where it preys on a wide variety of animals. It is commonly harvested for food.

Kuhl’s Creek Frog

This is a highly variable species complex of fanged frogs. Males, especially, can develop enormous heads with bony protrusions, which are used in combat with other males for territory and mates.

Rippled-skin Frog

A small, slender frog with a distinctive white stripe on its upper lip and prominent skin folds along its back. It prefers open, grassy areas near still or slow-moving water.

Twin-spotted Tree Frog

A beautiful, bright green tree frog with large eyes and webbed feet for gliding. Its name comes from the two prominent black spots often found near its groin, though these can sometimes be absent.

Orange-bellied Tree Frog

A stunning tree frog that is green on top but has a brilliant orange-to-red belly and inner thighs. This coloration is hidden at rest but flashes into view when the frog jumps, possibly to startle predators.

Laos Horned Frog

A large, impressive litter-dweller with prominent horn-like skin flaps above its eyes. Its wide mouth allows it to swallow large prey, including other frogs, lizards, and large insects.

Large Odorous Frog

As its name suggests, this large, stream-dwelling frog secretes a pungent, unpleasant odor from its skin when handled, likely as a defense mechanism. It is threatened by harvesting for food.

Striped Sticky Frog

This small, ground-dwelling frog has a defense mechanism where it secretes a sticky, glue-like substance from its skin when threatened, which can make it difficult for a predator to handle.

Painted Chorus Frog

A small frog easily identified by the beautiful, ornate dark pattern on its back, which resembles a series of interconnected diamonds. It is common and adaptable, found in many different environments.

Asian Horned Toad

A more slender species of horned frog with relatively long legs. It is perfectly camouflaged among the leaf litter and relies on its disguise to ambush unsuspecting prey that wanders too close.

Smooth-skinned Wart Frog

A member of the mossy frog group, this species has smoother skin than its more famous relatives like *T. corticale*. It is a secretive, tree-hole breeding species about which little is known.

Four-lined Tree Frog

This species is part of a cryptic complex with *P. leucomystax*. True *P. megacephalus* often have four distinct dark stripes running down their back, but this trait is variable. It builds foam nests over water.

Nongkhai narrow-mouth Frog

A small, brownish frog with a triangular body shape typical of its genus. It is part of a group of very similar-looking species and is often best identified by its distinct, chirping call.

Blyth’s River Frog

One of the giants of the frog world in Asia, this massive frog can reach very large sizes. It is heavily harvested for human consumption, which has led to significant population declines across its range.

Paddy Frog

An extremely common and adaptable frog found in almost any wet, open habitat, especially rice fields. Its coloration and skin texture are highly variable, making identification challenging.

Red-eyed Litter Frog

A small, unassuming brown frog that lives in the leaf litter. Its most stunning feature is its eye, where the upper half of the iris is a brilliant, fiery red or orange, contrasting with the dark lower half.

Spot-legged Tree Frog

A large, robust tree frog, typically green or brown, with distinctive dark spots or blotches on the concealed surfaces of its hind legs. It is an adept climber and glider.

Annamite Cascade Frog

Endemic to the Annamite mountains, this frog is a torrent specialist. It has large toe pads for gripping wet rocks and a slender, streamlined body for navigating the rapids and waterfalls it calls home.

Black-spotted Rock Frog

A small frog with a flattened body profile and wide, webbed feet. This body shape helps it cling tightly to rocks in the splash zones of fast-flowing streams and waterfalls, avoiding being washed away.

Annamite Spiny Frog

This powerful, stream-dwelling frog is notable for the sharp, black keratinous spines that breeding males develop on their chests and fingers. These spines are used during aggressive encounters with other males.

Botall’s Bubble-nest Frog

A very small, delicate tree frog. Unlike many of its relatives that build large foam nests, this species often lays its eggs in the small pools of water that collect in the axils of plants.

Black-sided Cascade Frog

A torrent-adapted frog with a characteristic dark brown or black stripe running along its side, contrasting with a lighter back. It is a powerful leaper, often seen on rocks in mountain streams.

Brown Tree Frog

A small, cryptic tree frog that is typically brown or grayish, providing excellent camouflage in vegetation and on tree bark. It has a rough skin texture and a somewhat triangular snout.

Tuberculated Toad

A small, unique toad found in forest leaf litter. It has a flattened body, a triangular head, and skin covered in prominent, rounded tubercles, giving it a very distinctive, bumpy appearance.

Small Horned Frog

A smaller member of the horned frog genus, this species still possesses the characteristic cryptic coloration and small, horn-like projections over its eyes. It is a secretive forest floor inhabitant.

White-lipped Tree Frog

A medium-sized tree frog very similar in appearance to its more common relatives. It is often distinguished by subtle differences in coloration, skin texture, and its advertisement call.

Vietnamese Mossy Frog

Another master of disguise, this mossy frog has a spiny, multi-colored skin texture that blends in with moss and lichen. It breeds in water-filled tree holes, a behavior typical of its genus.

Common Green Frog

A beautiful, bright green frog with prominent golden-yellow or white stripes running down the sides of its body (dorsolateral folds). It is commonly found sitting among vegetation in ponds and wetlands.

Berdmore’s Frog

A large and powerful frog with long legs built for impressive leaps. It typically has a brown or bronze back and a distinct dark stripe running through the eye, bordered by a white lip stripe.

Glandular Frog

This frog is named for the numerous prominent glands on its skin, particularly on its back and sides, which give it a bumpy appearance. It is a semi-aquatic species found in swampy lowland forests.

Indochinese Frog

A common, medium-sized, brownish frog found in a variety of wetland habitats. It is often a key part of local ecosystems, serving as both predator and prey, but is often overlooked due to its plain appearance.

Mountain Litter Frog

A small, secretive frog endemic to the Annamite range. It lives among the leaf litter on the banks of clear mountain streams and is threatened by habitat degradation in its limited range.

Orlov’s Tree Frog

A large, rare, and beautiful gliding frog. It is typically bright green with extensive black and yellow webbing between its toes. Its population is severely fragmented and threatened by forest loss.

Chirping Frog

Named for its call, which is a continuous, high-pitched chirp that sounds more like an insect than a frog. These tiny frogs often form large choruses in grassy areas after rains.

Floating Frog

This small, fully aquatic frog has a flattened body and webbed feet. It spends most of its time in the water, often seen floating motionless at the surface among aquatic plants.

Karin Hills Frog

A small but robustly built frog adapted to life in and around cool mountain streams. It has a brownish coloration and slightly rough skin, helping it blend in with its rocky environment.

Poilane’s Frog

A medium-sized fanged frog found along streams in the Annamite mountains. It is a powerful jumper and an active predator along the water’s edge, feeding on insects and other invertebrates.

Spotted-belly Frog

A recently described species known from limestone karst regions. It is characterized by its exceptionally large eardrum (tympanum) and a distinctive pattern of dark spots on its belly.

Stejneger’s Paddy Frog

Part of the widespread and confusing *Fejervarya limnocharis* complex, this is another common frog of agricultural landscapes. It is a key predator of insects in rice paddy ecosystems.

Mute Treefrog

Visually almost identical to other common tree frogs like *P. leucomystax*, this species is often differentiated by its unique advertisement call or through genetic analysis. It also builds foam nests.

Black-and-White Caecilian

A large burrowing amphibian with a striking pattern for a caecilian: a dark, slate-gray back and a creamy white or yellow belly. Like others of its kind, it is rarely seen above ground.

Big-headed Frog

Breeding males of this fanged frog species develop massively oversized heads and powerful jaws. They use these features as weapons in territorial battles with other males along forest streams.

Brown Stream Frog

A very common and widespread streamside frog. It is easily recognized by its slender body, pointed snout, and a distinct black or dark brown stripe running from the nose, through the eye, to the groin.

Ailao Mountains Frog

A stout, medium-to-large frog, often found at higher elevations near streams or pools. It is a powerful swimmer and jumper, well-adapted for a semi-aquatic life in its mountain habitat.

Dark-sided Chorus Frog

This tiny frog is one of the most common amphibians in disturbed habitats. It has a broad, dark brown stripe running along its side and is often heard producing its high-pitched, buzzing call from low vegetation.

Fea’s Tree Frog

A large, impressive “flying” frog that can glide long distances using its extensively webbed hands and feet. Females construct large foam nests on branches or leaves overhanging ponds or pools.

Gland-armed Frog

This robust, ground-dwelling frog gets its name from the swollen forearms and nuptial spines that males develop during the breeding season. These are used to grasp females during amplexus.

Annandale’s Tree Frog

A small “bush frog” that undergoes direct development, meaning the eggs hatch directly into tiny froglets, skipping the free-swimming tadpole stage. This allows it to breed away from water bodies.

Inthanon Horned Frog

A member of the *Megophrys major* species complex, this large horned frog is a master of camouflage on the forest floor. It was recently recognized as a distinct species found in the mountains of the region.

Annamite Tree Toad

A large, semi-arboreal toad. Unlike most toads, it is an excellent climber and is often found in trees and vegetation overhanging clear streams in the Annamite Mountains.

Laos Cascade Frog

Another member of the diverse *Amolops* genus, this frog is a specialist of fast-moving water. It is part of a cryptic species complex, with many similar-looking species adapted to torrent environments.

Laos Petite Frog

A small, recently discovered species of narrow-mouthed frog known only from a specific karst area in Laos. Due to its rarity and limited known range, its conservation status is still uncertain.

Long-snouted Frog

This stream frog has a noticeably long and pointed snout, giving it a very streamlined appearance. This is likely an adaptation for its life in and around large, fast-flowing rivers.

Lao Torrent Frog

A powerful frog adapted for the most turbulent of mountain streams. It has a muscular build and exceptionally large toe pads that act like suction cups, allowing it to hold on in torrential currents.

Moulmein’s Rock Frog

With a flattened body and fully webbed feet, this frog is superbly adapted for an aquatic life. It is often found perched on wet, sun-drenched rocks in the middle of clear, fast-flowing streams.

Peter’s Frog

A very small, inconspicuous brown frog that lives in leaf litter near streams. While visually unremarkable, it produces an astonishingly loud, high-pitched, piercing whistle that is a common sound in its habitat.

Rock-loving Toad

This toad is distinguished by the high, sharp, bony crests on its head, which form a sort of helmet. It is a semi-aquatic species, preferring the rocky banks of clear streams in dense forest.

Ruby-eyed Tree Frog

A small, brownish tree frog that can be identified by its iris, which is often a reddish-brown or coppery color. It is relatively common and adaptable, found in a variety of modified habitats.

Chapa Spadefoot Toad

A very large and impressive litter frog from the mountains of the north. It is dark and stout, with huge, striking eyes that are bicolored, often with a bright blue or turquoise upper half.

Sharp-snouted Frog

A poorly known species of stream frog, characterized by its unusually long and sharply pointed snout. It is rarely encountered, and more research is needed to understand its status and ecology.

Short-legged Toad

A small species of horned frog with relatively short limbs compared to its body size. Like its larger relatives, it is a master of camouflage, blending in with the leaves and debris of the forest floor.

Siam Caecilian

A poorly known, burrowing caecilian believed to occur in northern Laos. Like other members of its genus, it likely lives underground in wet forests and is rarely ever seen by people.

Silent Frog

This cascade frog is notable for what it lacks: a male advertisement call. It is believed to be mute, possibly communicating through other means in its noisy, fast-flowing stream habitat.

Smith’s Pigmy Frog

An extremely small and obscure species of narrow-mouthed frog. It is currently known only from the original specimens collected, and virtually nothing is understood about its life history or distribution.

Stoliczka’s Frog

A high-altitude specialist, this robust frog is adapted to the cold, clear streams of mountainous regions. It is a powerful swimmer and spends much of its time in or near the water.

Doi Suthep cascade frog

This is a medium-sized cascade frog with a greenish-brown back and large, distinct toe pads for gripping wet, slippery rocks. It is a key inhabitant of high-gradient streams in mountain forests.

Tailed Tadpole Frog

Adults are typical stream frogs, but the tadpoles have a unique, long, muscular tail with low fins, an adaptation for maneuvering and holding position in the strong currents of their native streams.

Thai Spadefoot Toad

Another cryptic, large-headed frog of the forest floor. It can be distinguished from similar species by the coloration of its eye and subtle morphological features. Its call is a loud, singular “woop.”

Tuber-skinned Tree Frog

A small, warty member of the “bug-eyed frog” group. Its rough, brownish skin provides excellent camouflage on tree bark. It breeds in tiny pools of water that collect in tree cavities.

Van Hoang’s Tree Frog

A medium-sized tree frog that was only recently described by scientists. It is green with unique yellow markings. As a newly found species, very little is currently known about its population or habits.

Yellow-spotted Caecilian

A beautiful and distinctive caecilian with a dark body marked by a series of bright yellow spots along its sides. It is a burrowing species that is very rarely encountered, making it difficult to study.

Fujian Fanged Frog

A common and widespread species of fanged frog, often found in a variety of aquatic habitats from pristine forest streams to disturbed ditches. It is an important predator of insects and other small animals.

Zig-zag-patterned Frog

This slender, long-legged frog is named for the distinct, dark zig-zag or wavy line that runs along its side, separating the brown back from the lighter-colored belly and flanks. It is often found on vegetation overhanging streams.

Other Amphibians by Country