Abstract
A new species of Microhyla frog from the Nilphamari district of Bangladesh is described and compared with its morphologically similar and geographically proximate congeners. Molecular phylogeny derived from mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed that although the new species – designated here as Microhyla nilphamariensis sp. nov. – forms a clade with M. ornate, it is highly divergent from M. ornata and all of its congeners, with 5.7 – 13.2% sequence divergence at the 16S rRNA gene. The new species can be identified phenotypically on the basis of a set of diagnostic (both qualitative and quantitative) characters as follows: head length is 77% of head width, distance from front of eyes to the nostril is roughly six times greater than nostril–snout length, internarial distance is roughly five times greater than nostril–snout length, interorbital distance is two times greater than internarial distance, and distance from back of mandible to back of the eye is 15% of head length. Furthermore, inner metacarpal tubercle is small and ovoid-shaped, whereas outer metacarpal tubercle is very small and rounded. Toes have rudimentary webbing, digital discs are absent, inner metatarsal tubercle is small and round, outer metatarsal tubercle is ovoid-shaped, minute, and indistinct.
Highlights
Species delimitation is an important element in both ecology and evolutionary biology research, and in particular, in the development of biodiversity management strategies and plans [1]
Species diversity in many organismal groups is still poorly documented, even in some vertebrate taxa such as amphibians {e.g. [2, 3]}. This is especially true in areas with a high degree of endemism, such as the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot of India (e.g. [4, 5]), and in adjacent areas such as Bangladesh, from where new species are being described at an increasing rate [6, 7]
Locality of this species is in the Western Ghats of India [11, 22, 23], but several new candidate species—formerly recognized as M. ornata— have been reported from Bangladesh based on genetic information [6, 11]
Summary
Species delimitation is an important element in both ecology and evolutionary biology research, and in particular, in the development of biodiversity management strategies and plans [1]. Species diversity in many organismal groups is still poorly documented, even in some vertebrate taxa such as amphibians {e.g. [4, 5]), and in adjacent areas such as Bangladesh, from where new species are being described at an increasing rate [6, 7]. Amphibians from Southern Asia are poorly studied, but recent genetic studies have identified many cryptic species from multiple genera and families {e.g. Southern Asia has very high amphibian diversity, which is prominent in families such as Dicroglossidae and Microhylidae. Many new cryptic species continue to be identified in these families, from Bangladesh [9, 10], hinting at the PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0119825. Many new cryptic species continue to be identified in these families, from Bangladesh [9, 10], hinting at the PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0119825 March 25, 2015
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
