Chuanbei Toothed Toad vs Long-tailed Sylph

Oreolalax chuanbeiensis compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Chuanbei Toothed Toad is Endangered while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chuanbei Toothed Toad	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Anura (Frogs & Toads)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Megophryidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Oreolalax	Aglaiocercus
Species	Oreolalax chuanbeiensis	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Chuanbei Toothed Toad and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Chuanbei Toothed Toad

EN — Endangered

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chuanbei Toothed Toad	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chuanbei Toothed Toad

Habitat

Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Chuanbei Toothed Toad

The Chuanbei Toothed Toad (Oreolalax chuanbeiensis) is an Endangered amphibian endemic to the mountains of northern Sichuan Province in southwestern China. It belongs to the family Megophryidae, a diverse group of litter frogs and toad-like amphibians that is particularly species-rich in the eastern Himalayan and southwestern Chinese highlands. The species name chuanbeiensis refers to northern Sichuan (Chuanbei), reflecting its highly restricted geographic range. Like other Oreolalax species, the Chuanbei Toothed Toad is associated with cold, fast-flowing mountain streams, where larvae develop in torrent conditions that require specialized morphological adaptations including oral suckers. Adults are terrestrial outside the breeding season, sheltering in leaf litter and rocky crevices in montane forest. The IUCN has assessed this species as Endangered due to its small known range, ongoing habitat degradation from logging, agriculture, and infrastructure development in mountain areas, and the impacts of chytridiomycosis (amphibian chytrid fungal disease) which threatens Asian megophryid frogs. Limited survey data mean that the species' full extent of occurrence and population size are poorly constrained.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.