<p class="HeadingRunIn"><strong>A new tree frog in the genus <em>Polypedates</em> (Anura: hacophoridae) from southern Thailand</strong></p>

Abstract

We describe a new species of Southeast Asian rhacophorid frog belonging to the Polypedates leucomystax species complex from Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. Polypedates discantus sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of having the skin of the head not co-ossified with the skull; absent or indistinct white dots on the back of the thigh; paired-vocal sac openings; and a round tubercle on the tibiotarsal articulation. The new species is also distinguished from P. leucomystax and P. megacephalus in univariate and multivariate analyses of quantitative morphometric characters, and has uncorrected pairwise distances of 6.61-7.16% from its closest relative, P. leucomystax, in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene͘ The new species has four distinct male advertisement call types, consisting of one-note, two-note, three-note and staccato calls. The new species occurs syntopically with P. leucomystax at the type locality.

Phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of thePolypedates leucomystaxcomplex in Thailand

“…These mechanisms generated the high species richness observed today (Hall, 1998; Woodruff, 2010). Of interest to our research were the numerous frog species in Southeast Asia whose taxonomy is still controversial, such as Microhyla fissipes (Yuan et al, 2016), Staurois tuberilinguis (Matsui et al, 2007), Microhyla ornata (Matsui et al, 2005) and Polypedates leucomystax (Kuraishi et al, 2013; Rujirawan, Stuart & Aowphol, 2013). Accurate species delimitation is essential to better understand their speciation and diversification and their biogeography for conservation purposes.…”

“…These high levels of phenotypic plasticity present a great challenge for classification. Phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships of the P. leucomystax complex throughout Southeast Asia exhibit adaptive radiation (Kuraishi et al, 2013; Pan et al, 2013; Rujirawan, Stuart & Aowphol, 2013). At least six valid species, including P. braueri , P. impresus, P. leucomystax , P. macrotis , P. megacephalus and P. mutus have been distinguished in the P. leucomystax complex based on their morphology, advertisement calls and molecular data (Matsui, Seto & Utsunomiya, 1986; Brown et al, 2010; Kuraishi et al, 2011; Kuraishi et al, 2013; Pan et al, 2013).…”

“…At least six valid species, including P. braueri , P. impresus, P. leucomystax , P. macrotis , P. megacephalus and P. mutus have been distinguished in the P. leucomystax complex based on their morphology, advertisement calls and molecular data (Matsui, Seto & Utsunomiya, 1986; Brown et al, 2010; Kuraishi et al, 2011; Kuraishi et al, 2013; Pan et al, 2013). Five species of genus Polypedates , P. colletti, P. leucomystax , P. macrotis , P. megacephalus and P. mutus , can be found in Thailand (Taylor, 1962; Heyer, 1971; Frost, 2013; Kuraishi et al, 2013; Pan et al, 2013; Rujirawan, Stuart & Aowphol, 2013). Brown et al (2010) indicated that much of the genetic divergence of the P. leucomystax complex was discovered in mainland rather than insular populations distributed throughout thousands of islands of the Malay Archipelago, presumably resulting from range expansion mediated by transportation of agricultural products.…”

“…Brown et al (2010) indicated that much of the genetic divergence of the P. leucomystax complex was discovered in mainland rather than insular populations distributed throughout thousands of islands of the Malay Archipelago, presumably resulting from range expansion mediated by transportation of agricultural products. Recently, a new species, P. discantus , belonging to the P. leucomystax species complex from southern Thailand was discovered using data on morphological characteristics, advertisement calls and molecular evidence, which showed that this species was highly dissimilar to P. leucomystax and P. megacephalus (Rujirawan, Stuart & Aowphol, 2013). Several studies have confirmed the existence of cryptic species of the P. leucomystax complex (Matsui, Seto & Utsunomiya, 1986; Kuraishi et al, 2011; Blair et al, 2013; Kuraishi et al, 2013; Pan et al, 2013).…”

A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia

“…For a long time, Polypedates discantus was known as Polypedates leucomystax. It was only recently separated from Polypedates leucomystax complex species and named Polypedates discantus in a study by Rujirawan et al (2013). From molecular studies, Polypedates discantus has uncorrected pairwise distances of 6.61-7.16 % compared to its closest relative, Polypedates leucomystax.…”