Ansonia sp.

Inger, Robert F. & Stuebing, Robert B., 2009, New Species And New Records Of Bornean Frogs (Amphibia: Anura), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 57 (2), pp. 527-535 : 530-531

Tadpole Ansonia sp. cruciform2 ( Bufonidae )

( Figs. 5 , 6)

FMNH 272705-47.

Headbody teardrop-shaped, widest at plane through nares, distinctly tapered; snout very broadly rounded; nares much closer to eyes than to tip of snout, eye-naris distance less than eye diameter and one-third naris-snout; internarial distance slightly narrower than interorbital. Oral disc ventral, slightly narrower than maximum body width; marginal papillae of upper lip confined to lateral quarters; marginal papillae continuous across lower lip; inframarginal papillae present in lateral thirds of lower lip; distance from lower beak to P3 greater than distance from P3 to margin of lip; labial tooth rows 2/3, upper rows longer, but not curling around ends of lower rows; beaks slender, upper smooth, lower feebly serrate; upper beak in separated halves, half of upper beak 0.26–0.39 (median 0.31, n = 19) of gap between halves.

Spiracle opening low on side, midway between eye and end of body, tube fused to body wall.

Gut in circular coils.

Tail tapered slightly in distal fifth to a point; caudal muscle deeper than fins except in distal fourth.

Coloration (in preservative) dark brown or black dorsally and laterally, immaculate white (cream in life?) ventrally; slightly lighter anterior to eyes; a transverse light band, half diameter of eye, across body behind eyes, interrupted mid-dorsally; a light streak beginning ventrolaterally above corner of oral disc and extending back to postorbital light band; light ventral area curling up behind end of body; caudal muscle dark brown except for light ventral margin; fins whitish with black margins

Head-body lengths are given in Table 1. Total lengths 22.6 (stage 35) to 26.8 (stage 41).

These larvae were collected at Bukit Kana (250 m ASL) in large (width 13–15 m), clear, rocky streams. Fifteen samples (79%) were found in torrents, three (16%) in riffles, and one in an open pool. Of the 70 stations searched on these streams, 36 (51%) were torrents, 29 (41%) were riffles, and 5 were open pools or side pools. Search for tadpoles was carried out in smaller (width 3 m) streams, but no larvae of this species were found. Of the 29 stations on these small streams,16 (55%) were riffles, seven (24%) were open pools, three were leaf drifts, and three were side pools .

Larval Ansonia longidigita were collected from the same two large streams, 24 samples from torrents and one from a riffle. No larval A. longidigita were found in the small (width 3 m) streams.

Altogether 46 samples of larval Ansonia were collected at Bukit Kana. Five samples included tadpoles of A. longidigita and A. cruciform, one sample included larval A. cruciform and A. cruciform2, and two samples included all three larval forms.

Figures

Fig. 5. Ansonia sp. cruciform2. Dorsal view of larva. Scale in mm.