Megophrys (Panophrys) jingdongensis, Fei and Ye

Tapley, Benjamin, Nguyen, Luan Thanh, Cutajar, Timothy, Nguyen, Chung Thanh, Portway, Christopher, Luong, Hao Van & Rowley, Jodi J. L., 2020, The tadpoles of five Megophrys Horned frogs (Amphibia: Megophryidae) from the Hoang Lien Range, Vietnam, Zootaxa 4845 (1), pp. 35-52 : 44-46

Megophrys (Panophrys) jingdongensis

Figs. 3C and 6

Molecular data: A 16S sequence was generated from a tissue sample obtained from the single tadpole (VNMN010902). Uncorrected p -distance between the tadpole in this study and a M. jingdongensis specimen collected approximately 390 km to the northwest in the proximity of the type locality; Wenlong , Jingdong County, Yunnan Province, China (GenBank accession number KX 811874 ) was 0.1 %.

Collection site: The following tadpole description is based on a single specimen ( VNMN010902 ) at Stage 25. The specimen was found near the bank in a large, 2 m wide pool in heavily disturbed evergreen forest on Mount Pu Ta Leng , Bat Xat Nature Reserve, Bat Xat District, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam (22.4322°N 103.6297°E, 1912 m asl; Figs. 1 and 2A ), at 15:00 h on 20 March 2018 by Luan Nguyen, Christopher Portway, Chung Nguyen and Benjamin Tapley .

Morphology: The body is elongated and slender; the nares are oval and are closer to the eyes than to the snout, the rims of the nares are serrated and raised from the body wall, the internarial distance is less than the interorbital distance; the eyes are positioned dorsolaterally, the pupils are round; the spiracle is sinistral and the spiracular tube protrudes from midway along the body wall and anterior to maximal trunk width and opens laterally; the tail length is 68.1% of the total length; the dorsal tail fin inserts behind the body-tail junction, the dorsal fin is low, particularly towards the proximal half of the tail length; the basal tail width is 48.8% of the maximal trunk width, the tail tip is rounded; the oral disc is subterminal and antero-dorsal; the lateral corners fold medially and turn upward when not fully extended (and in preservative), the width of the umbelliform oral disc makes up 63.4% of the maximal width of the trunk; in life the maximal BW is 80.4% (n =1) the maximal width of the fully extended ODW; the lower lip is bi-triangular shaped; marginal papillae are absent; regularly positioned, round and oblong shaped submarginal papillae are present on both the upper and lower lip; the lower lip is deeper than the upper lip; labial teeth are absent; the upper jaw sheath is serrated and has a medial notch; the lower jaw sheath lacks a medial notch. See Table 1 for measurements.

Colour in life: ( Fig. 6 ) Dorsally, the head and body are dark brown with a series of cream blotches bordered by orange flecks, diffuse beige flecks cover the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the body; neuromasts are indistinct; the oral disc is a translucent beige brown and the submarginal papillae are dark brown; the dorsal apex of the tail has four cream saddles, the margins of which are bordered with dark brown, the saddles extend from the body and terminate half way along the length of the tail; at the point where the tail meets the body, there is a brown stripe that extends from the body-tail junction and runs along the midline of the lateral tail surface, this stripe becomes increasingly broken and fades into brown blotches half way along the length of the tail, the dorsal and ventral tail fins are opaque, the dorsal fin has many dark brown speckles along its length; the ventral fin has few, very dispersed dark brown speckles; the vent is grey brown and speckled with metallic blue; the sclera of the eye is black; the pupil is black and round; the iris is gold, speckled with black dots; the gills and coils of the gut are visible in the ventral view through the transparent ventral skin.

Colour in preservative: ( Fig. 3C ) The body is brown with lighter speckles and blotches; the oral disc is a translucent grey brown with dark brown submarginal papillae; the dorsal and ventral fins are opaque, pale grey brown with darker speckles; the venter is speckled grey and brown.

Variation: The tadpole of M. jingdongensis at Stage 37 was described previously by Fei et al. (2009) although it is unclear if species identity was supported with molecular data. The description is broadly congruent with the specimen collected in this study but there are some notable differences. In the text of Fei et al. (2009) the tail tip is described as blunt, but the line drawing of the tadpole shows a specimen with a pointed tail tip. Fei et al. (2009) describe the body of M. jingdongensis as Stage 37 as unmarked, this is incongruent with our observation of a single specimen at Stage 25 where the body is heavily marked both in life and in preservative.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Survey sites in the Hoang Lien Range. Blue star, Megophrys gigantica and Megophrys jingdongensis tadpole collection site; blue square, Megophrys hoanglienensis tadpole collection site; blue circle, Megophrys fansipanensis tadpole collection site; blue triangle Megophrys maosonensis tadpole collection site. Pale grey areas indicative of higher elevation, dark green indicative of lowest elevation.

FIGURE 2. Collection sites in the Hoang Lien Range: (A) Megophrys gigantica and Megophrys jingdongensis tadpole collection site, Bat Xat District; (B) Megophrys hoanglienensis tadpole collection site, Tam Duong District; (C) Megophrys fansipanensis tadpole collection site, Sa Pa District, and (D) Megophrys maosonensis tadpole collection site, Sa Pa District.

FIGURE 3. Tadpoles of five Megophrys species from the Hoang Lien Range in preservative: (A) Megophrys gigantica (VNMN010899); (B) Megophrys fansipanensis (HLNP 20171230 00011); (C) Megophrys jingdongensis (VNMN010902); (D) Megophrys hoanglienensis (VNMN010903) and (E) Megophrys maosonensis (VNMN010904). Scale bar is 0.5 cm.

FIGURE 6. Megophrys jingdongensis tadpole VNMN010902 in life. Dorsal, lateral, and ventral views. 10 mm scale.