A New Species of Limestone-Forest Frog, Genus Platymantis (Amphibia: Anura: Ceratobatrachidae) from Eastern Samar Island, Philippines

We describe a new species of forest frog (genus Platymantis) from 180-300 m above sea level on Mt. Lihidan in the northwestern part of Panay Island, Philippines. It is assigned to the Platymantis dorsalis species group and is distinguished from congeners by external morphology, various spectral and temporal components of the advertisement call, and a preference for terrestrial, limestone microhabitat. Unique morphological characters include a moderately large body (27.7-34.3 mm SVL for 15 males), slightly expanded terminal finger and toe discs, distinctly rugose dorsal and lateral skin, pronounced supratympanic fold, protuberant rictal tubercle cluster, hidden dorsal and posterior edges of tympanum, and unique coloration.

We describe a new species of terrestrial limestone forest frog of the genus Platymantis from Biak Na Bato National Park in central Luzon Island, Philippines. Platymantis biak is assigned to the primarily arboreal Platymantis guentheri Species Group, and is distinguished from these and other congeners by features of its external morphology and preferred terrestrial limestone microhabitat. Several distinguishing morphological characters include a moderately large body (32.3–39.9 mm SVL for 23 males and 37.4–42.4 mm SVL for 8 females), moderately expanded finger discs and slightly expanded toe discs, smooth skin, and limb banding pattern. The new species is yet another species in a rapidly growing group of newly discovered Philippine forest frogs with preferences for forested, karst habitats.

The discovery of new vertebrate species in developed countries is still occurring at surprising rates for some taxonomic groups, especially the amphibians and reptiles. While this most often occurs in under-explored areas, it occasionally still happens in well-inhabited regions. We report such a case with the discovery and description of U. mahonyi sp. nov., a new species of frog from a highly populated region of New South Wales, Australia. We provide details of its morphology, calls, embryos and tadpoles, and phylogenetic relationships to other species of eastern Uperoleia. We also provide the results of targeted surveys to establish its distribution and provide observations of its habitat associations. As a consequence of these surveys, we comment on the likely restricted nature of the species' distribution and habitat, and place this in the context of a preliminary assessment of its putative conservation status, which should be assessed for listing under the IUCN's red list. We note this species, which is morphologically distinct, has gone unnoticed for many decades despite numerous ecological surveys for local development applications.

We describe a new species of frog from the eastern slopes of the Andes in central Peru. Pristimantis sirasp. nov. has a distinctive crossing mark on the iris and no tympanum. The new species is closely related to P. antisuyu Catenazzi & Lehr, 2018, P. cruciocularis Lehr, Lundberg, Aguilar & von May, 2006, and P. erythroinguinis Catenazzi & Lehr, 2018, but is easily differentiable by lacking colour blotches on groins. Pristimantis sirasp. nov. inhabits the mountain forests from 1550 to 2200 m a.s.l., inside a national reserve threatened by illegal mining.

We describe a new species of frog in the microhylid genus MicrylettaDubois, 1987 from Northeast India based on molecular and morphological evidence. The new species, formally described as Micryletta aishani sp. nov., is phenotypically distinct from other congeners by a suite of morphological characters such as brown to reddish-brown dorsum; dorsal skin shagreened with minute spinules; snout shape nearly truncate in dorsal and ventral view; a prominent dark streak extending from tip of the snout up to the lower abdomen; ash-grey mottling along the margins of upper and lower lip extending up to the flanks, limb margins and dorsal surfaces of hand and foot; tibiotarsal articulation reaching up to the level of armpits; absence of outer metatarsal tubercles; and absence of webbing between toes. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus are inferred based on mitochondrial data and the new taxon is found to differ from all the recognised Micryletta species by 3.5–5.9% divergence in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA. The new species was found in the states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura, from low to moderate elevation (30–800 m asl) regions lying south of River Brahmaputra and encompassing the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. The discovery validates the presence of genus Micryletta in Northeast India based on genetic evidence, consequently confirming the extension of its geographical range, westwards from Southeast Asia up to Northeast India. Further, for nomenclatural stability of two previously known species, Microhyla inornata (= Micryletta inornata) and Microhyla steinegeri (= Micryletta steinegeri), lectotypes are designated along with detailed descriptions.

The East African rainforests are areas of prime biogeographical importance. The significance of the amphibian fauna of the region as a biogeographical indicator group, first recognized by SCHIOTZ (1981) is reiterated. SCHIOTZ' 1981 list of East African rainforest amphibians is corrected and updated. A new species of dwarf toad from the rainforest of the Uzungwe Mountains, Tanzania is described. The new species is tentatively assigned to the genus Nectophrynoides Noble 1926, and comment on the relationships of the new species and of the Nectophrynoides-Didynamipus group is included. It is suggested that many of the African bufonid genera, especially those including dwarf forms, are currently poorly defined; primitive characters, characters involving the loss of structures and characters subject to a high level of homoplasy often being used. Some possible solutions to this problem are given. The need for a better understanding of the biology of rainforest Amphibia, especially the dwarf species, is seen to b...

Herein we describe a new species of toad (genus Incilius) from Cerro Bollo in western Panama. The new species is unusual among toads in being earless, having sexual dichromatism, hands and feet with webbed digits that lack tubercles, and hypertrophied testes. The type locality of the new species is separated from the type locality of its congener, I. peripatetes, by ∼100 kilometers.

We describe a new species of forest frog in the genus Platymantis from New Britain Island, Bismark Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. The new species is a morphologically cryptic form that has masqueraded for almost four decades under the name P. schmidti (formerly P. papuensis schmidti, Brown & Tyler, 1968). The new species is microsympatric with the geographically widespread P. schmidti at two known localities. We diagnose the new species on the basis of its distinctive advertisement call and slight but consistent differences in body size and proportions. Calling males of the new species appear to prefer more elevated perches than do males of P. schmidti and the new species may exhibit a greater extent of sexual size dimorphism.

Two new species of microhylid frogs assigned to the genus Callulops are described from the mountains of New Guinea.Callulops fojaensis sp. nov. is known only from mid-montane forest in the Foja Mountains of Papua Province, IndonesianNew Guinea, and can be distinguished from congeners by the combination of moderate size, short limbs, slightly expandedfinger and toe discs, and uniform brown dorsal and lateral colouration. Callulops mediodiscus sp. nov. is known from asingle site in mid-montane forest in Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, and can be distinguished from allcongeners by its wide finger and toe discs, moderate size and short advertisement call. Description of these two new frogspecies brings the number of Callulops known to 18, of which at least nine are only known from montane regions (>1000 m above sea level).

Abstract: I describe a new species of frog of the Hylarana signata species complex from Mt. Busa, Sarangani and South Cotobato provinces, southern Mindanao Island, Philippines. The new species is distinguished from all other members of the H. signata complex by a unique combination of characters of external morphology, biochemical allelic variation, and the species’ position in phylogeny, estimated by analysis of multilocus DNA sequence data. Justification for recognition of the new species is further supported by marked sequence divergence in mitochondrial and nuclear genes. The new species has been collected only once in >20 yr despite targeted survey efforts on Mindanao, and multiple possible explanations are available to explain its extreme rarity. The recognition of this species, on the basis of a single previously misidentified specimen, accentuates the importance of collecting large sample sizes of specimens during faunistic surveys. Recognition of a new species from a locality that has now been h...

We describe from the Muller Range of New Guinea three new species of microhylid frogs, one each in the genera Albericus, Cophixalus, and Oreophryne. The new Albericus is unique in its combination ofan infrequent peeping call, oblique lores, wide snout and finger discs, and distinct tympanum. The new Cophixalus is distinguished by its combination of finger discs larger than toe discs, third toe longer than fifth, distinct tympanum, curved scapular ridges, dark postocular stripe, dark W-shaped mark above the shoulders, anda call consisting of a rapid series of 6–9 musical peeps. The Oreophryne is unique in its combination ofa cartilaginous connection of the procoracoid to the scapula, no webbing between the toes, fifth toe longer than third, short snout, dark face, and call consisting of an extended multi-note chuckle or cackle. Each species was either common or abundant. The new Cophixalus shows a predilection for caves, although it is not restricted to them. Many frogs occurring in the central highlands of New Guinea are wide-ranging across much of this high-elevational region, but others are of restricted distribution. The species described herein are likely members of the latter group, although it remains to be determined whether each will prove endemic to the Muller Range.

We describe a new species of forest frog (genus Platymantis) from Mt. Malinao, Bicol Peninsula, southern Luzon Island, The Philippines. The new species is distinguished from congeners by a moderate body size (28.3–39.1 mm for eight males; 49.8–52.7 in two females), slightly expanded terminal finger and toe disks, a distinct color pattern, a unique microhabitat preference, and various spectral and temporal aspects of the advertisement call. The new species is known only from 950–1160 m above sea level on Mt. Malinao and, as such, accentuates this mountain's unrecognized conservation significance as a minor center of herpetological diversity and endemism on southern Luzon. We compare the new species to all presumably related (phenotypically similar) species of Platymantis from the Philippines and comment on apparent trends in morphological evolution and habitat preference in Philippine members of the genus Platymantis. Current understanding of Platymantis species diversity throughout this topograph...

We describe a fantastic new species of forest frog (Mantellidae: Gephyromantis: subgenus: Laurentomantis) from moderately high elevations in the vicinity of Andasibe, Madagascar. This region has been surveyed extensively and has a remarkably high anuran diversity with many undocumented species still being discovered. Surprisingly, by exploring areas around Andasibe that lacked biodiversity surveys, we discovered a spectacular and clearly morphologically distinct species, previously unknown to science, Gephyromantis marokorokosp. nov., documented for the first time in 2015. The new species is well characterised by a very rugose and granular dorsum, dark brown skin with bright red mottling, sparse light orange to white spots on the ventre, vibrant red eyes and femoral glands present only in males that consist of eight medium-sized granules. Bioacoustically, the new species has a quiet advertisement call that differs from related species by having a moderate call duration, 2–4 strongly pulsed notes and a slow note repetition rate. Furthermore, it has substantial differentiation in mitochondrial DNA, with pairwise distances of 7–9% to all other related species in sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA marker. Additional evidence is given through a combined four mitochondrial markers and four nuclear exons concatenated species tree, strongly supporting G. striatus as the sister species of the new species in both analyses. The discovery of this new species highlights the need for continued inventory work in high elevation rainforests of Madagascar, even in relatively well-studied regions.

We describe a new species of frog of the genus Kaloula (family Microhylidae) from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia based on morphological evidence. The new species has previously been mistaken with K. baleata, which it most closely resembles. Kaloula indochinensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: maximum snout–vent length 53.7 mm; finger tips expanded into wide discs; the majority of specimens with two subarticular tubercles on the fourth toe; inner and outer metatarsal tubercle slightly raised, inner metatarsal tubercle shorter than first toe; absence of dorsolateral stripe; and large, bright, orange-yellow axillary and inguinal spots.

A new species of leptodactylid frog is described from Parque das Mangabeiras, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, south‐eastern Brazil. The new species is a member of the Hylodes lateristrigatus group, and is characterized by medium size, snout rounded in dorsal view and protruding in lateral view, presence of vocal slits and sacs, upper surface of finger and toe discs with well‐developed scutes, a weakly developed stripe on the upper lip, dorsum, arm, leg, and foot dark brown with small irregular brown and black dots, and absence of red and yellow spots in live specimens. The descriptions of the tadpoles and vocalizations, and information on natural history are provided. Hylodes perplicatus (Miranda‐Ribeiro), previously considered a member of the H. nasus species group, is transferred to the H. lateristrigatus species group.