FROGLOG Is the Bi-Monthly Frange of Articles on Any of FROGLOG Vol 91 (As Newsletter of the Amphibian Spe- Research, Discoveries Or Con- Should References)

Home , Khasi Hills, Mini (frog), Pandanus furcatus

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ufoides meghalayana, the Khasi Hills Rock Toad, is an ;<=!>?!@A.!?BB> ! BEndangered species of tropical bufonid (Stuart et al., !"#$%&'()&(*+ 2008), restricted to the Mawblang Plateau, ca. 5 km south of Cherrapunjee, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya State, north-east- ,-./0'12-03' 4/5617-./03'-8'29/'+:5;:>1'4-7?'$-;5'6:' as Ansonia meghalayana), and reallocation to the monotyp- )-029/;12/0:'(:56;''@;>;'7-BD ;:6'6:'C;5;<;17;0'6EF0-./'7-:D 1/0.;26-:'12;2G1''@;3F/5;2/1'/IG/1'6:'&06'J;:?;' @;>' 8-0'F0-F-1;>1'8-0'#4C('L0;:21' @;'#>>6;:7/'2-' O/'P-0E/5'@;

C EA@,0.<;AEF!Mizoram State (Ngeng- pui Wildlife Sanctuary and Dampa Tiger Reserve). An examination of the specimen that forms the basis of that report (uncatalogued specimen in the collection of the Guwa- hati-based NGO, Aaranyak;

SVL 32.9mm) reveals that it is !"#$%&'9)':0%%.5'4.%";.610-'/-&21'"6'306731.6&'8.$-7&%'<'="/%.> not conspeci!c with B. megha- 408"101'.2'!"#$%&'()*'+,-.-/-0- layana, as is the single speci- veal unstudied diversi!cation is available in the published men taken recently from Tura, within the lineage endemic to literature, thanks largely to in the Garo Hills of western India, and currently consid- the two early papers (Yazda- Meghalaya State (!eld number ered monotypic. ni and Chanda, 1971; Pillai MFA 10134; SVL 35.9mm). Compared to other Indian and Yazdani, 1973; Chanda, "e identity and relations of endemic amphibian species, 2002). "e species breeds in these and related species are basic data on the natural his- rock pools and within leaves currently under study, and re- tory of Bufoides meghalayana of Pandanus furcatus, during premonsoonal showers (end March to May). We conducted !eld work in the forests behind the village of Mawblang (25°15’N, 91°44’E; altitude ca. 1,112m asl; Fig. 1) on 11 March 2009 and observed four adults of B. meghalayana in a deep horizontal cleft of a sand- stone boulder along a dry rocky stream (Fig. 2), < 0.1 !"#$%&'?)'@7$-1'2&=0-&'!"#$%&'()*'+,-.-/-0-

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EA@,0.<;AEF!frogs, in show- Amolops sp. were also ob- ing well- served in the same microhab- developed itat at the time. Air tempera- p a r o t o i d ture inside the rock crevice at g l a n d s . 1630 h was 26°C. Two toads We conse- (ID 9346-47) could be ex- quently an- tracted, representing an adult nounce the male (with enlarged testes) rediscovery and an adult female (with of Bufoides pigmented eggs of diameter meghalaya- 2.5-2.8mm), measuring 39.0 na, over 30 and 39.1mm, respectively, in years after snout-vent length. "e single the last re- male observed had bright yel- port of the low marbling on lower #anks species. and inguinal region, that is "e ex- !"#$%&'A)'B&61%0-'3$%20/&'.2'07$-1'2&=0-&'!"#$%&'() *'+,-.-/-0-)"6'C$6D&6E'%&F&G absent in the female. Fig. 3 tensive de- shows one of the animals in forestation 2008) as a result of “clear- dorsolateral view, Fig. 4 is the and quarrying activities now cutting of the species’ forest ventral surface of the animal taking place in the Cher- habitat”. In addition, the lo- in “unken” re#ex, a response rapunjee region, besides its cality of observation was close widespread in anuran am- small known range and spe- to the garbage disposal site phibians with noxious der- cialized saxicolous (including of the village of Mawblang. mal secretions (and similar a depressed habitus, presum- An earlier assessment dur- to the image of the venter of ably to squeeze into narrow ing the Conservation Assess- the holotype in the original rock cracks), and reportedly ment and Management Plan description). "e sample (as also, arboreal habits, are pre- (CAMP) Workshop in 1997 well as the type series cur- sumably factors that threaten listed the species as Criti- rently in the collection of the the species, which is listed cally Endangered (Molur and ZSI) di$ers from the descrip- as Endangered (Stuart et al., Walker, 1998), although it is

M EA@,0.<;AEF!amphibians of Hill University, and Zoologi- graphical reference. Lawrence, the world. Lynx Edicio- cal Survey of India, for sup- Allen Press, Inc. and Asso- nes, Barcelona/IUCN- "e porting our researches. Our ciation of Systematics Collec- World Conservation Union, colleague, Mohammed Firoz tions. v + 732 pp. Conservation International Ahmed, Aaranyak, allowed us Molur, S. & Walker, S. and NatuServe, Washington, access to material reported as (Eds.). (1998). Amphibians of D.C. Bufoides meghalayana. Saibal India. Report Summary 1998. Yazdani, G.M. & Chanda, Sengupta, Arya Vidyapeeth Biodiversity Conservation S.K. (1971). A new toad, College, provided logistic sup- Prioritisation Project (BCPP) Ansonia meghalayana (fam- port and supplies. Finally, we India/Endangered Species ily Bufonidae) from Megha- thank Genevieve V. A. Gee for Project. Conservation Assess- laya (Assam), India, with commenting on the manu- ment and Management Plan observations on its breeding script. (CAMP) Workshops. Zoo’s on Pandanus furcatus Roxb. Print 13(12):1–29. (Pandanales: Pandanaceae). References Pawar, S. & Birand, A. Journal of the Assam Science Chanda, S.K. (1994). An- (2001). A survey of amphib- Society 14(1):76–80; 1 plate. uran (Amphibian) fauna of ians, reptiles and birds in northeast India. Memoirs of northeast India. CERC Tech- For more information please contact Indraneil Das: the Zoological Survey of India nical Report#6. Centre for hamadryad2004@hotmail. 18(2): i–vi + 1–143 + [maps] Ecological Research and Con- com a–w. servation, Mysore. 118 pp. Chanda, S.K. (2002). Pillai, R.S. & Yazdani, G.M.

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ost anurans are highly cruciger. "is common name, Mpolymorphic in their ‘hourglass’ has been recorded color pattern and some spe- for nearly 150 years (Fergu- cies exhibit quite distinct co- son 1877). Here we wish lour patterns. "us, the sci- to show that the use of this enti!c and common names common name is not statisti- of some amphibian species cally signi!cant. have been coined according to their characteristic colour Materials and methods patterns. One such common Approximately 1000 am- name is ‘hourglass’ tree-frog, phibians belonging to about the common name given to 50 species of anurans were two Polypedates species as investigated during the on- there is a characteristic mark going island-wide survey by which resembles an hourglass the third author to ‘Investi- in Polypedates eques and P. gate the incidence and geo- graphical pattern !"#'()''27)'I"'('5"14'7"31"6/1'4.$%> of Malformations, #-033',011&%6'I'Q)'P)':)'R)'S)' Q05$6703&D0%0 Abnormalities, In- juries and Parasitic mädiya = Sinhala) were inves- infection of Frogs, tigated from four montane lo- Toads and Caeci- calities: Ambewela (1600 m), lians of Sri Lanka’. Black Pool (1700 m), around During this survey Hakgala (1500 m) and around 180 Polypedates Horton Plains National Park eques Günther, (2000 m) for the presence of 1858 (Montane a parasitic infection (a detailed hourglass tree frog report of the parasitic infection = English; Kandu- !"#'9)''27)'I"'('5"14.$1'4.$%#-033',011&%6'I' will be published elsewhere). Q)'P)':)'R)'S)'Q05$6703&D0%0 kara pahimbu gas

> 1!" &D0%0 out any trace of the hourglass for Polypedates eques and is mission granted to Anslem de pattern on the dorsal side of questionable. "e distribu- Silva, and to the Amphibian the body (Fig 2). tion of the hourglass mark Specialist Group for a Seed !"#$"%&$'()*+,-.## /)'()*+,-.## Grant to AdS. We thank K. 125#$#&6!VCPBB2W ?M! N! G. Roshan S. Nandana for as- H6XY6&6!VCOBB2W T! S sistance in the !eld. H)(')7!K&647%!V?BBB2W CO! "4& Z&68X!K))&!VCSBB2W ?M N 0)$.- 12 34 Literature cited Ferguson, W. 1877. Reptile *08-&'()'Q"31%"8$1".6'.2'14&'J.$%#-033',011&%6 fauna of Ceylon. Letter on collection sent to the Co- However, in 16 (20%) speci- on the dorsal aspect of P. lombo museum. Government mens the hourglass mark was eques by the sampled loca- Printer, Colombo 42 pp. aberrant (Fig 3). Nevertheless, tions are given in table 1. these were grouped under category A. A Paired T-Test (99% Acknowledgements Corresponding author: CI for mean di$erence) was Dept of Wildlife Conser- [email protected] carried out to test for signi!- vation, Sri Lanka for per-

CB G::DO:C/9/:7E GEP+Q+LG!C+E""#+P)10-%R+C155+,')+B)'B'%15%+,')+G!9;+P)10-% e are pleased to an- visit http://armi.usgs.gov/ localities and species involved, Wnounce, in partner- (4) Start date and schedule of ship with Partners in Amphib- ARMI AWARDS. "e crite- the project, (5) Explanation of ian and Reptile Conservation rion for these awards is that the how the project will further (PARC; wwwparcplace.org) proposed work should be done the ASG’s mission, (6) Budget a new round of ARMI Seed on species or issues of concern breakdown, including details Grants for. "ese are intended in the USA. ARMI is particu- of additional funding obtained as one-time awards of between larly interested in funding re- or sought from elsewhere $500 and $2000 for the sup- search on potential stressors of (note that we do not provide port or initiation of research amphibian populations. funds to support salaries), (7) that furthers the ASG’s mis- References, if appropriate, and sion to conserve biological Do not hesitate to contact (8) Any other pertinent infor- diversity by stimulating, de- Robin Moore if you need clari- mation. veloping and executing prac- !cation or advice. tical programs to conserve All information acquired amphibians around the worl, Proposals of no more than 4 with the support of the ASG in addition to determining pages should be addressed to: remains the intellectual prop- the nature, extent and causes Robin Moore, Programs O%- erty of the grant recipient, but of amphibian population de- cer, ASG at rdmoore@conser- must be freely available to the clines. "ere is one category in vation.org. ASG and for the ASG’s use in this round, thanks to generous furthering its mission. support from the US Geologi- Proposals should contain: (1) cal Survey’s (USGS) Amphib- Name, a%liation and contact "e closing date for applica- ian Research and Monitoring information of proposer(s), (2) tions is 1st February, 2010. Initiative (ARMI). For more Project title, (3) Description of information on ARMI please the intended work, including GIB.$S$10+E=)($(15+G55$10&"+-'+S"+T')I"# Summit. "e Mini Summit n 20-21 August 2009: convened at the Zoological So- identi!ed two priority iniatives Oa group of the world’s ciety of London by the IUCN to be implemented through leading amphibian conser- Species Survival Commission integrated in situ and ex situ vationists and scientists were for the !rst Amphibian Mini conservation actions, and re-

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E1S$0+G>1)#+UVVW+!"&$B$"0-%+G00'=0&"# he 2009 Sabin Award phibians in Madagascar. Franco into National Conservation Tfor Amphibian Con- and Herilala have worked tire- intitiatives. servation recognized the ex- lessly to bridge the gap between Franco and Herilala will be traordinary contribution that science and conservation to in- presented with their award by Franco Andreone and Herila- crease our knowledge about the Andy Sabin on January 14 in la Randriamahazo have made status of Malagasy amphibians New York. to the conservation of am- and ensure their incorporation D:7[%!*)(!H654'6'!K()'#8'4)7 this is an integral component of he ASG supports or- is speci!cally for direct con- the overall project). Criteria and Tganizations working to servation action, not research examples of funded projects can protect of critical amphibian (although some funds can be be found at www.amphibians. habitat worldwide. "is fund earmarked for survey work if org. ,7%'(:8'4)7%!')!1:'+)(% ROGLOG publishes a words and follow the style FROGLOG is the bi-monthly Frange of articles on any of FROGLOG Vol 91 (as newsletter of the Amphibian Spe- research, discoveries or con- should references). You may cialist Group (ASG). Articles on servation news relating to the also submit images, maps any subject relevant to the under- amphibian decline phenom- and !gures. We encourage standing of amphibian conser- enon. We encourage authors the submission of photo- vation, research and / or assess- describing original research graphs to accompany text. ments should be sent to: Robin to !rst make submissions to Short news items and press Moore, Editor, Conservation In- a refereed journal and then, releases are also acceptable. ternational, 2011 Crystal Drive, if appropriate, to publish a Please submit potential con- Suite 500, arlington, VA 22202, synopsis in Froglog. Submis- tributions to Robin Moore USA. sions should be in English, at the address in the box to E-mail: normally no more than 1000 the right. [email protected]