A medium-sized frog (ca. 40 mm in length), Discoglossus nigriventer has a dark belly (as its name implies) with small white spots. The dorsal pattern is ochre and rust colored patches grading into dark olive-grey to greyish-black. D. nigriventer differs from D. pictus in having a greater interocular distance, longer forelimbs, and a less projecting snout. For a more extensive description see Mendelssohn and Steinitz (1943).
 
Of this species only two specimens exist: one type specimen, collected by Mendelssohn in 1940 (Mendelssohn and Steinitz 1943), and one collected by Steinitz in 1955 (Werner 1988). The two tadpole paratypes have been lost.

Since the single adult specimen collected in 1955, Discoglossus nigriventer has not been seen until November 15, 2011, four decades later by a Park Ranger, who was unsure of the identity of the adult frog (Boaz Shacham, pers.com.). Its identification has been since confirmed and will certainly renew interest in its conservation.