Fejervarya kalinga, Raj & Dinesh & Das & Dutta & Kar & Mohapatra, 2018

Raj, Prudhvi, Dinesh, K. P., Das, Abhijit, Dutta, Sushil K., Kar, Niladri B. & Mohapatra, Pratyush P., 2018, Two new species of cricket frogs of the genus Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the Peninsular India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (1), pp. 1-21 : 4-10

Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov.

( Table 1 and 3 ; Refer Figures 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 )

Materials examined: Holotype: Adult male: India, Odisha, Mahendragiri, Gajapati District (N 18.94162°, E 84.33361°), altitude 1210m ASL, 15-VI-2016, coll. S.K. Dutta and P.P. Mohaptra (Regd. No. ZSI / WRC / A/2018 ).

Paratypes: Two males and two females. Male: India, Odisha, Khordha district, Barbara Reserve Forest (RF), Mahulia , (N19.88692°, E85.00944°), Alt 728m ASL, coll. S.K. Dutta and P.P. Mohapatra, ( ZSI / WRC / A /2019) ; Male: India, Odisha, Dhenkanal district , Hindol, Rajanga forest , (N20.53103°, E85.30583°), Alt 626m ASL, coll. S.K. Dutta, ( ZSI / WRC / A /2020) ; Female, India, Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam district , Sileru, (N18.0482°, E82.0339°), Alt. 1196m ASL, coll. Prudhvi Raj, ( ZSI / WRC / A /2021) ; and Female, India, Odisha, Gajapati district ,Mahendragiri, (N18.94162°, E84.33361°), Alt. 1210m ASL, coll. S.K. Dutta and P.P. Mohapatra ( ZSI / WRC/2022).

Lineage diagnosis ( Figure 2 ): Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. can be diagnosed phylogenetically as a member of the fejervaryan clade, showing a sister relationship to F. keralensis , exhibiting high level of genetic divergence of 7% for 16S rRNA. Morphologically males of the new species can be distinguished from F. keralensis in having relatively larger SVL (40.4mm ± 2.81 mm, n=4) (vs. relatively smaller SVL 37.5mm ±3.36, n= 5 in F.keralensis ); greater HL/ SVL ratio of 0.373 (0.354 to 0.401,n=4) (vs. smaller HL/ SVL ratio of 0.306, n= 5 in F. keralensis ); greater ED/ SVL ratio of 0.149 (0.144 to 0.155, n=4) (vs. lesser ED / SVL ratio of 0.122, n= 5 in F. keralensis ); higher IOS / SVL ratio of 0.078 (0.071 to 0.089, n=4) (vs. lower IOS / SVL ratio 0.061, n= 5 in F. keralensis ); higher ThL/ SVL ratio of 0.523 (0.484 to 0.579, n=4) (vs. lower ThL/ SVL ratio of 0.474, n= 5 in F. keralensis ). The adult females of Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. have relatively larger SVL 54.5mm ± 5.46, n=6 (vs. relatively smaller SVL 48.9 mm ± 7.58 mm, n= 5 in F. keralensis ); greater HL/ SVL ratio of 0.356 (0.356 to 0.379,n=6) (vs. lower HL/ SVL ratio of 0.319, n= 5 in F.keralensis ); a lower INS / SVL ratio of 0.077 (0.068 to 0.088, n=6) (vs. higher INS / SVL ratio 0.089, n= 5 in F. keralensis ); greater ED/ SVL ratio of 0.122 (0.114 to 0.132, n=6) (vs. lower ED / SVL ratio of 0.110, n= 5 in F. keralensis ).

Morphological diagnosis: In the field, Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. can be identified based on the combination of Two new species of cricket frogs of the genus Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915 ( Anura : Dicroglossidae ) from the Peninsular India morphological characters including large adult size (mean SVL being 40.4 mm in males and 54.5 mm in females); snout pointed in the dorsal and ventral profile; nostrils nearer to snout than to eye; tympanum prominent and more than 50% of the eye diameter; fore arm shorter than hand; first finger longer than second; hind limbs overlap when folded at right angles to the body, tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the snout tip; thigh length less than tibia length; webbing medium (I 2-1 II 2- 2 III 3-3 IV 3-3 V).

Regd. No. ZSI/WRC/ A/2018 ZSI/WRC/ A/2019 (Paratype) M ZSI/WRC/ WII-7019 A/2020 (Paratype) M M Average ± SD(n=4) ZSI/ ZSI/ WRC/A/2021 WRC/A/2022 (Paratype) (Paratype) F F WII-7013 WII-7015 WII-7017 WII-7018 Average ± SD(n=6) Sex M F F F F SVL 41.9 43.4 39.5 37.0 40.4 ± 2.81 53.5 54.6 51.9 65.0 49.1 53.1 54.5 ± 5.46 SL 7.5 7.9 7.5 7.0 7.4 ± 0.37 8.9 9.0 8.9 11.6 8.7 8.6 9.2 ± 1.14 EN 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.2 ± 0.10 5.7 5.5 5.7 7.2 5.6 5.6 5.8 ± 0.65 NS 3.6 3.8 3.7 3.4 3.6 ± 0.17 4.6 4.5 4.5 5.5 4.5 4.7 4.7 ± 0.39 TE 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.6 ± 0.08 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.8 3.0 3.0± 0.10 INS 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.5 ± 0.14 4.3 4.0 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.2 ± 0.17 IOS 3.0 3.1 3.5 2.9 3.1 ± 0.26 3.6 3.5 3.3 4.0 3.5 3.4 3.6 ± 0.24 UE 4.0 4.1 3.8 3.7 3.9 ± 0.18 4.3 4.6 4.5 5.2 4.4 4.4 4.6 ± 0.33 ED 6.5 6.4 5.7 5.5 6.0 ± 0.50 6.4 6.4 6.5 7.4 6.5 6.7 6.7 ± 0.38 HTYD 4.0 4.1 3.0 3.4 3.6 ± 0.52 4.4 4.4 4.4 5.3 4.6 4.3 4.6 ± 0.37 VTYD 3.8 3.8 2.7 3.0 3.3 ± 0.56 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 ± 0.33 HL 15.0 17.4 14.0 14.0 15.0 ± 1.60 18.5 18.9 18.5 23.4 18.6 18.6 19.4 ± 1.96 HWN 6.5 6.6 5.9 5.9 6.2 ± 0.38 7.2 7.6 7.2 7.9 6.9 7.5 7.4 ± 0.35 HWAE 10.0 10.9 9.5 10.0 10.1 ± 0.58 14.0 14.0 14.0 15.3 11.9 14.2 13.9 ± 1.10 HWPE 12.5 14 12.2 13.0 12.9 ± 0.79 16.5 17.1 16.9 20.0 15.0 17.2 17.1 ± 1.63 HWAJ 15.6 15.8 14.5 14.4 15.2 ± 0.66 20.7 20.0 20.0 23.2 18.9 20.5 20.6 ± 1.44 MN 12.3 14.3 12.0 11.9 12.6 ± 1.13 16.3 15.4 15.9 19.4 15.3 16.0 16.4 ± 1.53 MAE 9.0 10.0 8.5 9.0 9.1 ± 0.63 11.8 11.0 10.9 13.1 11.4 11.7 11.7 ± 0.80

(Holotype)

Description of Holotype ( ZSI / WRC /A/2018) ( Figures 3 and 4 ): A large sized Fejervarya species ( SVL: 41.9mm) with robust body; head length shorter than head width (HL: 15mm; HW: 15.6mm); snout pointed from above (SL: 7.5mm); canthus rostralis rather angled, loreal region concave with granules; nostrils round and nearer to snout than to eye; upper eyelid width less than eye diameter ( UE: 4mm; ED: 6.5mm); inter narial distance ( IN: 3.5mm) slightly greater than inter orbital distance ( IOS: 3.5mm); distance between back of eyes 1.4 times more than front of eyes ( IAE: 7.4mm; IPE: 10.2mm); supra-tympanic fold distinct; tympanum prominent and elliptical ( HTYD: 4mm; VTYD: 3.8mm) and diameter about 61% of eye diameter; choanae are widely separated; vomerine teeth long, ellipsoidal and arranged in a single row; anterior part of vomerine teeth series moderately separated from choanae; tip of tongue bifurcated.

Forearm robust (FaL: 8.5mm) and shorter than hand ( HAL: 9.3mm); fingers long and moderately thick with rounded tips; no dermal fringes; webbing absent; subarticular tubercles distinct; palmar tubercles present and distinct; then a tubercle oval and prominent; finger lengths II<IV<I<III.

Hind limbs long and overlap when folded at right angles to the body; tibio-tarsal articulation almost reaches the snout tip; thigh length less than tibia length ( TBL:

23.2mm; TiL: 21.6mm); foot length is 1.9 times tarsus length (FtL: 19.8mm, TaL = 10.2mm), relative toe length I<II<III< V <IV; toe tip rounded; webbing medium (I 2- 1 II 2-2 III 3-3 IV 3-3 V); inner metatarsal tubercle long and oval and outer metatarsal tubercle round and tiny; tarsal fold present; no dermal ridge along outer edge of fifth toe.

Snout and upper eyelid tuberculated with few tiny dermal granules; few tubercles in inter orbital space; lateral side of body with short and slightly thick ridges; numerous longitudinal dermal ridges on the dorsum that are relatively short and arranged randomly; upper part of flank, from arm pit to groin and lower part of flank granular; ventrally smooth on throat, belly and thighs; antero-dorsal region of thighs and dorsal surface of tibia with small granules; tarsus smooth dorsally; few granules around the vent. Supra-tympanic fold prominent, ending at postero-ventral portion of tympanum, reaching up to the base of forelimb.

In preservation, dorsum is dark brown; W-shaped marking present behind the head on the dorsum; groin region speckled; both fore limb and hind limb are prominently barred with dark bands (forearm, dorsal side of thigh, tibia, tarsus and foot); ventrally black marking on throat; belly and rest of the ventral region dirty white.

Secondary Sexual Characters: Males have external vocal sac at the region of throat which is light black in colour and faint nuptial pad present on the first finger.

Additional Information from Paratypes and Referred Specimens: Variation in morphometric characters is shown in Table 1 for comparison. Paratypes resemble the holotype in all aspects of morphology. Mid dorsal line was not observed in any of the specimens used in the current study.

Etymology: The specific epithet is referred to the geographic region of historical Kalinga Kingdom, comprising present day south Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh between the river Mahanadi and river Godavari in India. The specific name is a noun standing in apposition to the generic name. Suggested common name: ‘Kalinga Cricket frog’.

Distribution and Natural History: This species is known with certainty from several locaities in Odisha such as Mahendragiri hills, Gajapati district; Barbara RF, Khordha district; Rajanga, Hindol, Dhenkanal district; Potangi hills, Koraput district and Sorada, Ganjam district. In Andhra Pradesh this species is distributed in Sileru, Visakhapatnam district and Papikonda at Maredumilli, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. is widely distributed at an elevation range of 600 to 1200 m ASL in the northern Eastern Ghats that stretches from Mahanadi river in the east to Godavari river in the west, which falls in Eastern Highlands biotic provinces ( Rodgers et al., 2000). It inhabits moist deciduous to semi-evergreen forest habitats. The species was observed to breed during winter (November to February) season. Breeding takes place at the edges of streams, in open paddy fields and ditches in swampy grass lands of forested areas.

Comparisons: Fejervarya kalinga sp.nov. is found sympatric with F. orissaensis mostly in the lower altitudes in northern Eastern Ghats. Although, phylogenetically Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov is a member of Western Ghat clade, it can be distinguished from F. orissaensis ( Figure 5 ) in having relatively smaller adult male size of SVL 37.0 to 43.4 mm (n=4) (vs. relatively larger adult male size of SVL 36.2 to 47.2 mm (n=22) in F. orissaensis ); larger adult female size of SVL 49.1 to 65.0 mm (n=4) (vs. relatively smaller adult female size of SVL 34.2 to 53.8 mm (n=22) in F.orissaensis ); head width sub equal to head length (vs. head longer than wide in F. orissaensis ); canthus rostralis angular (vs. canthus rostralis obtuse in F.orissaensis ); webbing medium (I 2-1 II 2-2 III 3-3 IV 3-3 V) (vs. webbing extensive (I 1-2 II 1-1 III 1-2 IV 2-1 V) in F. orissaensis ); medium to high elevation preference with predominant forested habitat (vs. low elevation preference with predominant human habitation tolerance in F. orissaensis ).

Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. is geographically disjunct (N 18.18; E 77.95) from its phylogenetic sister species F. keralensis , distributed in the Western Ghats (N 10.26; E 76.80) , and both the localities are separated by 850 km in aerial distance.

Figures

Figure 1. Map showing distribution of Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. (in triangles, type locality in purple) and Fejervarya krishnan sp. nov. (in circle).

Figure 2. Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree for 42 dicroglossid species based on 5722 bp of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (16s, 12s, BDNF, Rhod, Tyr, RAG-2, NCX1, and CXCR4).

Figure 3. Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. in life. A. Holotype (ZSI/WRC/A/2018) from Mahendragiri, in life, B. Paratype (ZSI/ WRC/A/2021) from Barbara, in life.

Figure 4. Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov., holotype, ZSI/WRC/A/2018, adult male, 41.9 mm SVL. Dorsal and ventral view (horizontal lines equal 5.0 mm).

Figure 5. Principal Component Analysis scatter plot (of 18 morphometric characters as listed in Table 3 transformed to their ratio to SVL) for Fejervarya kalinga sp. nov. and F. orissaensis (male individuals).