OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa fs dedfcated to bufldfng evfdence for conservafon globally by publfshfng peer-revfewed arfcles onlfne every month at a reasonably rapfd rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org . All arfcles publfshed fn JoTT are regfstered under Creafve Commons Atrfbufon 4.0 Internafonal Lfcense unless otherwfse menfoned. JoTT allows unrestrfcted use of arfcles fn any medfum, reproducfon, and dfstrfbufon by provfdfng adequate credft to the authors and the source of publfcafon. Journal of Threatened Taxa Bufldfng evfdence for conservafon globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Onlfne) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Prfnt) Short Communfcatfon A second record of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Amphfbfa: Anura: Megophryfdae: Leptobrachfum bompu Sondhf & Ohler, 2011) wfth a note on fts morphologfcal varfatfons and natural hfstory Bhaskar Safkfa, Bfkramjft Sfnha & Ilona J. Kharkongor 26 September 2017 | Vol. 9| No. 9 | Pp. 10692–10696 10.11609/jot. 3300 .9. 9. 10692-10696 For Focus, Scope, Afms, Polfcfes and Gufdelfnes vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/About_JoTT For Arfcle Submfssfon Gufdelfnes vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/Submfssfon_Gufdelfnes For Polfcfes agafnst Scfenffc Mfsconduct vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/JoTT_Polfcy_agafnst_Scfenffc_Mfsconduct For reprfnts contact <[email protected]> Publfsher/Host Partner Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2017 | 9(9): 10692–10696 A second record of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae: Leptobrachium bompu ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) Sondhi & Ohler, 2011) with a note on its morphological Short Communication Short ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) variations and natural history OPEN ACCESS Bhaskar Saikia 1, Bikramjit Sinha 2 & Ilona J. Kharkongor 3 1,3 Zoological Survey of India, North Eastern Regional Centre, Risa Colony, Shillong, Meghalaya 793003, India 2 Zoological Survey of India, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Senki Valley, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 791113, India 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected] (corresponding author), 3 [email protected] Abstract: A single male specimen of Leptobrachium bompu was & Chanda (1979) and Chanda (1994)] under L. smithi. collected from Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lower Subansiri District, Wogan (2012) contradicted Sengupta et al. (2001) and put Arunachal Pradesh in 2015. This is the first report of this species after its original description in 2011 based on a male specimen. The present the previously reported L. hasselti [Pillai & Chanda (1979) collection locality is about 200km from the type locality. Additional and Chanda (1994)] as L. rakhinensis. Dutta et al. (2013) notes on morphological variations have added to the much-needed study on the intra-specific variation of the species. has refuted the claim of Wogan (2012) after comparing the morphological characters of the population of L. Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, eastern Himalaya, intra-specific smithi collected from northeastern India. Mathew & Sen variation, Leptobrachium bompu, Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. (2009) reported that the specimen of L. smithi deposited at Zoological Survey of India, Shillong by Sengupta agrees The megophryid genus Leptobrachium Tschudi (1838) with the description given by Pillai & Chanda (1979) for was established with hasselti as the type species. This the Leptobrachium specimens reported. genus is represented by three species in India - L. smithi, Supporting Sengupta et al. (2001), Das & Chanda L. rakhinensis and L. bompu (Frost, 2016). Earlier, L. (2004) kept the range extension of L. smithi to Thailand, hasselti was reported by Pillai & Chanda (1979) as being Myanmar and India (northeastern India). The postulation distributed in Meghalaya, India, with a subsequent report made by Wogan (2012) that the previously reported L. from Meghalaya by Chanda (1994). Matsui et al. (1999) hasselti from India as L. rakhinensis on the basis of the described L. smithi after analyzing the red/scarlet eyed Rakhine Hills of Myanmar being continuous with the Leptobrachium from Thailand, which were previously Chittagong Hills of Bangladesh and the adjacent hills confused with L. pullum or L. hasselti. Two years after of northeastern India, is flawed. Until specific reports the description of L. smithi, Sengupta et al. (2001) had confirming that L. rakhinensis is available in India and put the previously reported L. hasselti in India [Pillai Bangladesh, we restrict the range of this species to DOI: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3300.9.9.10692-10696 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8B5ABCDD-BAD9-4C77-A6B0-37330FFB550E Editor: Sushil K. Dutta, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bengaluru, India. Date of publication: 26 September 2017 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3300 | Received 23 January 2017 | Final received 30 August 2017 | Finally accepted 02 September 2017 Citation: Saikia, B., B. Sinha & I.J. Kharkongor (2017). A second record of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae: Leptobrachium bompu Sondhi & Ohler, 2011) with a note on its morphological variations and natural history. Journal of Threatened Taxa 9(9): 10692–10696; http://doi.org/10.11609/ jott.3300.9.9.10692-10696 Copyright: © Saikia et al. 2017. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Funding: None. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India for providing facilities. We also thank the Director, State Forest Research Institute, for providing access to study the holotype of L. bompu. Thanks are also due to Mr. Saumitra Deb, Scientific Officer, State Remote Sensing Application Centre, Department of Science & Technology, Government of Arunachal Pradesh for preparing the distribution map ofL. bompu. BJS acknowledges the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department for permission to do the survey and collection in Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary vide letter No.CWL/G/13 (95)/2011-12/Pt./1048-49 dt. 22/06/2015 as well as Mr. Riddi Bei and his support staff of TWS for their hospitality and field assistance. 10692 Eastern Spadefoot Toad spotted again Saikia et al. Myanmar. We, therefore, allot all the red/scarlet eyed Methods Leptobrachium in India under L. smithi, while L. hasselti The specimen was preserved in spirit after taking no longer belongs to the faunal list of India. photographs in live condition. All measurements were The only other species under Leptobrachium in India done with a MitutoyoTM digital caliper, under a binocular without any confusion regarding its distribution and microscope. All the measurements used by Sondhi identification L.is bompu, which was described in 2011 by & Ohler (2011) have been taken for comparison. The Sondhi and Ohler from a single, male specimen collected abbreviations and the list of measurements used are from Bompu, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, West Kameng provided in Table 1. The dissection of the specimen was District, Arunachal Pradesh. Many years have passed but carried out to ascertain its sex, which was found to be a there has been no other record of this frog till the second male. author of this paper collected the specimen dealt with in the present communication. This specimen (one male) Material examined identified asL. bompu was collected on the night of the 12 One adult, male (V/A/NERC/ZSI/1257) collected April 2015, from the vicinity of Pange Forest IB, Talle Valley by Bikramjit Sinha from the vicinity of Pange Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal IB, Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lower Subansiri Pradesh. An aerial distance of about 200km separates District, Arunachal Pradesh on the night of 12.iv.2015 this location from the type locality of the species. (27.54686580582588 N & 93.8950449293335 E, altitude Since this is the second record of this species after 1,926m); deposited at North Eastern Regional Centre, it was first described in 2011, we wanted to study Zoological Survey of India, Shillong (Fig. 1; Image 1). and compare our specimen with the holotype so as to ascertain the intra-specific variation, if any. As per Diagnosis the original description, the holotype was deposited A medium sized frog; body tapering towards the groin; at the State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), Itanagar, head wider than long, flat; canthus rostralis distinct; Arunachal Pradesh. A photograph of the holotype was snout rounded, minutely projecting over the lower jaw; taken; however, for comparing, the original description nostril closer to eye; interorbital space flat; tympanum of L. bompu by Sondhi & Ohler (2011) was used as the indistinct; distinct supra tympanic fold from posterior condition of the holotype currently was not found suitable eye corner to limb joint; vomerine ridge absent; tongue for the same; it being dry and shriveled, probably due to large; pupil vertical, oval, black in colour; iris grayish- poor maintenance of the type at the depository. blue in colour; pineal ocellus absent; axillary gland posterior to the junction of arm joint. Forelimbs slender; Figure 1. Map of Arunachal Pradesh showing type locality and the new locality of L. bompu Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2017 | 9(9): 10692–10696 10693 Eastern Spadefoot Toad spotted again Saikia et al. Table 1. Measurements of the specimen