This species is known from Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Trengganu and Pahang States in Peninsular Malaysia, from 200-900m asl (Dring 1979; Berry 1975; Y. Norsham pers. comm.). A population occurring in one tributary in western Sumatra, Indonesia, has been provisionally assigned to this species. Its reported occurrence on Tioman Island, Malaysia, was probably based on a misidentification (Leong Tzi Ming pers. comm.).
Habitat and Ecology
This species is known from muddy pools in rainforest near small streams and seepages in which it makes holes for breeding. It appears not to occur in disturbed areas.
In appropriate habitat in Malaysia this species is fairly common. In Sumatra it is considered to be rare.
The most likely significant threats to this species are pollution, and extensive habitat degradation through clear cutting and conversion of forest to plantations.
It occurs in Templer's Park and a number of forest reserves and watershed protection areas (Berry 1975; P. van Dijk pers. comm.; D. Iskandar pers. comm.), but no population appears to be entirely secure. Surveys of existing protected areas might be appropriate, as would improved protection measures to safeguard the ecological integrity of Templer's Park and the Gombak Valley in Malaysia and Lembah Anai Natural Reserve in Sumatra.
This species was considered by Kiew (1975) to be a synonym of Limnonectes nitidus, but we retain it as a valid species.
Norsham Yaakob, Leong Tzi Ming, Djoko Iskandar 2004. Limnonectes tweediei. In: IUCN 2014