Abavorana nazgul Quah, Shahrul Anuar, Grismer, Wood, Siti Azizah & Muin 2017

Quah, Evan S. H., Grismer, L. Lee, Wood Jr., Perry L., Lim, Kelvin K. P., Imbun, Paul Y. & Anuar, M. S. Shahrul, 2021, An investigation into the taxonomy of Abavorana luctuosa (Peters, 1871) (Anura, Ranidae) and the resurrection of Rana decorata Mocquard, 1890 from Borneo, Vertebrate Zoology 71, pp. 75-99 : 75

Abavorana nazgul Quah, Shahrul Anuar, Grismer, Wood, Siti Azizah & Muin 2017

Gunung Jerai Black Stream-Frog Figs 8G-H , 9E-F

Rana luctuosa Sukumaran, J. 2005: 38

Holotype.

An adult male ( USMHC 2231) collected on 9 April 2016 from Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia (5°47.719'N; 100°26.222'E, 948 m in elevation) by Evan S.H. Quah and David Chan.

Diagnosis.

Abavorana nazgul can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: adult males 41.51-44.1 mm SVL and single adult female 52.51 mm; adult males with SW 7.98-8.70 mm, single adult female SW 9.59 mm; adult males with IOD 3.94-4.48 mm, single adult female IOD 4.94 mm; adult males with TD 3.52-4.01 mm, single adult female TD 4.10 mm; adult males with FL 22.20-23.22 mm, single adult female FL 27.80 mm; nuptial pads absent in males; humeral glands in males small (2.4-2.98 mm) (Table 5 ); dorsolateral stripe continuous, orange to yellow in colour; dorsum between dorsolateral stripes black, with or without faint orange or yellow speckles; flanks black, colouration unstratified; distinct cream-colored spots on flanks, dorsal surfaces of limbs, and upper lip; venter grey-brown with prominent light spots on throat and belly, smaller spots on underside of thigh (Fig. 9E-F ; Quah et al. 2017).

Distribution.

Abavorana nazgul is thus far confirmed from the upper elevations of Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia ( Quah et al. 2017). Specimens resembling this species have been photographed at Thale Ban National Park, Satun Province in southern Thailand at approximately 500-600m in elevation around wild boar wallows but are only tentatively identified as A. cf. nazgul pending positive evidence (Fig. 8H ).

Figures

Figure 8. Peninsular Malaysian, Thai and Sumatran Abavorana luctuosa, and A. nazgul; A: A. luctuosa from Sungai Durian Forest Reserve, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. B: A. luctuosa from Janda Baik, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. C: A. luctuosa from Semenyih, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. D: A. luctuosa from Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. E: A. luctuosa from Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. F: A. luctuosa from Sumatra, Indonesia. G: A. nazgul (USMHC 2572) from Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. H. A. cf. nazgul from Thale Ban National Park, Satun Province, Thailand. (Photographs by Zaharil Dzulkafly [A], Steven Wong [B], Kurt H. P. Guek [C], Evan Quah [D & G], Ian Dugdale [E], Hellen Kurniati [F] & Bunyarit Dechochai [H]).

Figure 9. Colour pattern comparison among species of the genus Abavorana; Dorsum (A, C & E) and venter (B, D & F) in life of A. luctuosa (USMHC 2576) (A & B) from Penang Hill, Penang Island, Malaysia, A. decorata from Maliau Basin, Sabah, East Malaysia, Borneo (C & D) and A. nazgul (USMHC 2233) (E & F) from Gunung Jerai, Kedah, West Malaysia. (Photographs by Evan Quah [A, B, E & F] and Stefan T. Hertwig [C & D]).