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Gigante Island Frog
Platymantis insulatus
A critically endangered cave-dwelling frog wholly endemic to the Gigante Islands, Philippines. This specialized species urgently requires intricate karst limestone habitats for appropriate care.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Ceratobatrachidae
Subfamily:Ceratobatrachinae
Genus:Platymantis
Species:Platymantis insulatus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
24 - 28 °C
Night temperature
22 - 24 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: This critically endangered frog is strictly endemic to the karst limestone formations and caves of the Gigante Islands (Gigante Norte and Gigante Sur) in Carles, Iloilo Province, Philippines. It is found exclusively in highly humid limestone caves and rocky outcrops.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belongs to the family Ceratobatrachidae and the genus Platymantis. It represents an island-endemic relict population with a tiny distribution area. Like other Platymantis, it utilizes direct development, depositing terrestrial eggs in wet cave crevices.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly nocturnal, troglophilic, and rupicolous. It spends the day hiding in the dark, humid interior of karst caves or deep limestone fissures. At night, it emerges onto rock faces to hunt small cave invertebrates. It is extremely sensitive to habitat changes.
Morphology: A small frog with elongated limbs and expanded digital discs on both fingers and toes, allowing it to navigate slick, vertical rock surfaces. Its skin is finely granular, with a mottled gray-brown-green coloration that blends seamlessly with wet limestone.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a tall, vertically oriented terrarium measuring at least 50x50x80 cm (20x20x32 inches). Create a realistic karst limestone wall with numerous deep fissures and dark retreats. Substrate should be well-drained, topped with wet sphagnum moss.
Lighting and Heating: Provide very dim, shadowed lighting to replicate the cave environment. A 2% UVB lamp should be mounted outside the enclosure. Maintain stable temperatures between 21°C and 24°C (70°F-75°F) with a slight night drop. Avoid any hot basking lamps.
Humidity and Hydration: Relative humidity must be kept at 90% to 95% at all times. Automated misting systems or ultrasonic foggers are mandatory. A dripping system that mimics natural cave walls is highly beneficial for hydration. Do not allow the substrate to dry out.
Feeding and Supplementation: Feeds on small cave-dwelling and terrestrial insects. Offer flightless fruit flies, pinhead crickets, springtails, and isopods. Prey items must be dusted with high-purity calcium and vitamin D3 at every feeding due to the lack of natural sunlight.
Compatibility: Strictly for advanced, single-species terrariums. Keep individually or in carefully monitored breeding pairs. Do not introduce any tankmates of other species to prevent pathogen transmission and avoid causing territorial or calling stress.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly delicate and intolerant of temperature spikes. High risk of chytridiomycosis and bacterial skin infections if tank hygiene is neglected. Dual ventilation is essential to maintain low airflow and prevent stagnant air pockets.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This critically endangered frog is strictly endemic to the karst limestone formations and caves of the Gigante Islands (Gigante Norte and Gigante Sur) in Carles, Iloilo Province, Philippines. It is found exclusively in highly humid limestone caves and rocky outcrops.
Origin
North AmericaSouth and Southeast Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 4.2 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 4.2 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 4.2 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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