Saturday, September 20, 2014

[Herpetology • 2014] Limnonectes cintalubang • A New Burrow-utilising Fanged Frog (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from Sarawak, East Malaysia


Limnonectes cintalubang
 Matsui, Nishikawa & Eto, 2014

Abstract
 We found a unique, burrow-utilising dicroglossid frog of the genus Limnonectes from western Sarawak, East Malaysia. This frog is always found near burrows on the ground, into which it escapes when disturbed. It is much divergent from other congeners in morphology and mtDNA sequences. This species is nested using molecular phylogeny in a clade with Bornean populations of L. kuhlii complex and L. hikidai, but differs completely from the others by having relatively smooth skin, distinct tympanum, and chocolate brown dorsum with tiny blue spots laterally. We thus describe it as a new species and discuss its unique habit of burrow utilisation.

Key words. New Limnonectes, MtDNA phylogeny, burrow utilisation, Sarawak, taxonomy


Fig. 3. Dorsolateral view of a male holotype of Limnonectes cintalubang, new species (KUHE 47859).


Etymology. The species name is from the Malay words “cintai”, meaning to love, and “lubang”, meaning a hole, alluding burrow-utilising habits of the new species.

 Masafumi Matsui, Kanto Nishikawa & Koshiro Eto. 2014. A New Burrow-utilising Fanged Frog from Sarawak, East Malaysia (Anura: Dicroglossidae). RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY. 62: 679–687.