Bufotes viridis (Laurenti, 1768) complex*

Jablonski, Daniel, Khalili, Faizurrahman & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2023, The herpetofaunal diversity of Takhar Province, Afghanistan, Herpetozoa 36, pp. 73-90 : 73

Bufotes viridis (Laurenti, 1768) complex*

Figs 3 , 4A-C

* Note:

In the studied area possibly including Bufotes baturae ( Stöck, Schmid, Steinlein & Grosse, 1999); Bufotes perrini Mazepa, Litvinchuk, Jablonski & Dufresnes, 2019; Bufotes pewzowi (Bedriaga, 1898), Bufotes turanensis (Hemmer, Schmidtler & Böhme, 1978).

Takhar records.

Taleqan (Gulayi Bagh), 36.4433°N, 69.3058°E; 792 m a.s.l., 31 January 2020, found dead in grassy habitat near stream, one individual of unknown sex (CUHC-PA 197); Taleqan (Takhar University Campus), 36.7427°N, 69.5162°E, 792 m a.s.l., 8 May 2020, garden near stream, one adult female (CUHC-PA 168); Taleqan (Takhar University Campus), 36.7420°N, 69.4860°E, 800 m a.s.l., 16 May 2020, open field, one subadult female (CUHC-PA 167); Taleqan (Pusthhur), 36.7607°N, 69.5793°E, 899 m a.s.l, 18 May 2020, semi-desert area, one subadult individual of unknown sex (CUHC-PA 189); Taleqan (Gulayi Bagh), 36.7386°N, 69.5101°E, 794 m a.s.l., 28 May 2020, garden near stream, two adult females (CUHC-PA 173).

Distribution in Afghanistan.

Badakhshan, Badghis, Balkh, Bamiyan, Faryab, Ghazni, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Parwan, Samangan, Takhar, Wardak ( Wagner et al. 2016; Dufresnes et al. 2019; Jablonski et al. 2019a, b) Provinces, representing distribution in 50% of all Afghan Provinces.

Chorotype.

Bufotes turanensis is the most likely species found in Takhar Province and belongs to the Turanian chorotype.

Remarks.

The most comprehensive overview based on different types of data, but mostly genetics, has been provided by Dufresnes et al. (2019). According to these authors, B. pewzowi , B. baturae , B. turanensis and B. perrini are or may be present in northern Afghanistan and thus possibly in Takhar Province. Nevertheless, it is necessary to verify this through DNA-based approaches on a more comprehensive sampling of these toads collected from various locations within Afghanistan - most of data used by the published paper originated from the border areas of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; see fig. S4 in Dufresnes et al. (2019). Individuals that we photographed resemble B. turanensis that was mentioned from Takhar Province as a single specimen from Taleqan (CAS 120973; Wagner et al. 2016). In such case, our observations provide the second confirmation of this species for the Province.

Figures

Figure 3. Herpetofaunistic records of Bufonidae, Ranidae, Testudinidae and Agamidae from Takhar Province in the context of updated records from Afghanistan (white dots or squares: published data (except for the data on Bufotes oblongus and B. zugmayeri, which are distributed in SW Afghanistan); red dots: new data).

Figure 4. A. Adult individual of the Bufotes viridis complex from Taleqan (CUHC-PA 167); B. Adult female of the B. viridis complex from Taleqan (CUHC-PA 168); C. Adult female of the B. viridis complex from Taleqan (Gulayi Bagh) (CUHC-PA 173); D. Adult female of Pelophylax terentievi from Taleqan (Gulayi Bagh) (CUHC-PA 170); E. Adult male of P. terentievi from Takatuymaz (Tangi Farkhar) (CUHC-PA 171); F. Subadult individual of P. terentievi from Bay Yawa (Parchaw Khana) (CUHC-PA 215).