[Herpetology • 2026] Nyctibatrachus kali • Hiding in plain sight: A New Species of Nyctibatrachus (Anura: Nyctibatrachidae) from the central Western Ghats, India

Nyctibatrachus kali 

Aravind, Ramesh, Naik, Gururaja & Priti, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20895

Abstract 

Frogs belonging to the genus Nyctibatrachus are endemic to the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. They are the second most speciose frogs in the Western Ghats, with 70% of the species having narrow distribution ranges. They are also highly cryptic in nature. In this study, we describe a new species of Nyctibatrachus frog from the central Western Ghats of India. Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. is described from the Kali River basin of North Karnataka. The new species is distinguishable from all 34 currently recognised Nyctibatrachus species by a combination of morphological, acoustic and phylogenetic analyses. Molecular phylogeny based on two mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA and ND1) reveals that it belongs to the N. sanctipalustris clade. Based on the analysis of 16S rRNA, Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. shows genetic divergence >5% with its congeners, and based on the analysis of ND1, Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. shows genetic divergence >10% with its congeners. The bioacoustics analyses indicated that the new species differed from their closest congeners based on the dominant frequency of the advertisement calls and the number of notes in each call. For the first time, we observed two distinct advertisement call categories–call notes with low and high dominant frequency in Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. and its congeners. Our study adds to the rich diversity of frogs from the Western Ghats of India.

Keywords: Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Cryptic species, Endemic frogs, Freshwater ecosystem, Night frogs

Habitus of holotype (BNHS 6831) of Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov.
 (A) Live individual of holotype; (B) Slow flowing stream habitat of the holotype with female and a clutch of eggs; (C) Dorsal view; (D) Ventral view; (E): Lateral profile of head and trunk; (F): Ventral view of hand; (G): Ventral view of foot; (H): third finger disc without dorso-terminal groove; (I): fourth toe disc with dorso-terminal groove cover notched distally; (J): Schematic view of webbing in hindlimb (black lines represents toes, curved black lines represents webbing, blue circles represents subarticular tubercle and orange circles represents toe discs.).

 Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. 

Diagnosis: Based on molecular phylogenetic analysis, Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. belongs to the N. sanctipalustris clade (Fig. 4) and is a sister lineage to N. dattatreyaensis. Hence, we compared Nyctibatrachus kali sp. nov. (both ♂ and ♀ individuals of type specimens) with all the species belonging to the N. sanctipalustris clade (both ♂ and ♀ individuals of type specimens), i.e., N. dattatreyaensis; N. karnatakaensis; N. kumbara; N. sanctipalustris; N. shiradi, N. tunga and N. vrijeuni.

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Etymology: We name the species as Kali, the river at which the type locality of the species located. The specific epithet is an invariable noun in apposition.

 

C. K. Aravind, Badiger Ramesh, Chandrakanth Rukkappa Naik, K. V. Gururaja and Hebbar Priti. 2026. Hiding in plain sight: Description of A New Species of Nyctibatrachus (Amphibia, Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the central Western Ghats, India. PeerJ. 14:e20895 . DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20895 [2026-03-27]

[Herpetology • 2026] Scincella ngati • A New Skink of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Dak Lak Province, Vietnam

 

Scincella ngati

A. V. Pham, Do, T. Q. Nguyen, Hoang, M. H. T. Nguyen, M. Le, M. D. Le, Ziegler & C. T. Pham, 2026 

DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1275.178070

Abstract

A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 is described from south-central Vietnam based on morphological and molecular evidence. Scincella ngati sp. nov. is characterized by a combination of the following characters: size medium (SVL up to 48.3 mm); primary temporals two; external ear opening without lobules; loreals two; supralabials seven (rarely 8); infralabials six; enlarged nuchals, 0–2; midbody scales in 32–34 rows; dorsal scales smooth, in eight rows across the back; paravertebral scales 68–70, not widened; ventral scales in 64–68 rows; 10 or 11 smooth lamellae beneath finger IV and 16 or 17 beneath toe IV; toes not reaching the fingers when limbs adpressed along body; dorsal surface of body and tail bronze brown with a discontinuous black vertebral stripe, one scale wide, from middle of neck to tail base; a black stripe, two scales wide, interrupted by small pale spots, from nostril to eye and extending from posterior margin of eye along upper part of flank and tail base. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species is recovered as an independent lineage with no clear sister taxon and shows at least 11.2% genetic divergence from other species in the genus based on a fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene.

Key words: COI, Krong Trai Nature Reserve, molecular phylogeny, morphology, taxonomy

Holotype of Scincella ngati sp. nov. (IB R.6445) in life, adult male.

Paratypes of Scincella ngati sp. nov. in life.
 A. Dorsolateral view (IB R. 6447, male) B. Dorsolateral view (IB R. 6452, female).

Scincella ngati sp. nov.

Diagnosis. The new species can be distinguished from other species of Scincella by a combination of the following characteristics: size medium (SVL ≤ 48.3 mm); primary temporals two; external ear opening without lobules; loreals two; supralabials seven (rarely eight); infralabials six; enlarged nuchals 0–2 on each side; midbody scales in 32–34 rows; dorsal scales smooth, in eight rows across the back; paravertebral scales 68–70, not widened; ventral scales in 64–68 rows; 10 or 11 smooth lamellae beneath finger IV and 16 or 17 beneath toe IV; toes not reaching the fingers when limbs adpressed along body; dorsal surface of body and tail bronze brown with a discontinuous black vertebral stripe, one scale wide, from middle of neck to tail base; a black stripe, two scales wide, interrupted by small pale spots, running from nostril to eye and extending from posterior margin of eye along upper part of flank and tail base.

 Anh Van Pham, Dang Trong Do, Truong Quang Nguyen, Chung Van Hoang, Mai Hong Thi Nguyen, Minh Le, Minh Duc Le, Thomas Ziegler and Cuong The Pham. 2026. A New skink of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. ZooKeys. 1275: 275-298. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1275.178070 [31 Mar. 2026]