Xenophrys palpebralespinosa ( Bourret, 1937 )

Nguyen, Tan Van, Brakels, Peter, Maury, Nathanael, Sudavanh, Somchit, Pawangkhanant, Parinya, Idiiatullina, Sabira, Lorphengsy, Sengvilay, Inkhavilay, Khamla, Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon & Poyarkov, Nikolay A., 2020, New herpetofaunal observations from Laos based on photo records, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 248) 14 (2), pp. 218-249 : 223-224

Xenophrys palpebralespinosa ( Bourret, 1937)

Spiny Horned Toad ( Fig. 4B)

Several individuals of P. palpebralespinosa were observed by P. Brakels, P. Pawangkhanant, T. V. Nguyen, S. Idiiatullina, and N.A. Poyarkov on 16 July 2019 on the northern slope of Phou Samsoum Mountain, Mork District , Xiangkhouang Province (19°08.494’N, 103°46.867’E; elevation 2,070 m asl) .

Morphological characters of the individuals from Xiangkhouang Province agreed well with the descriptions of Bourret (1937) and Fei et al. (2010). The photographed individual ( Fig. 4B) agrees with the diagnosis of P. palpebralespinosa in the following characters: small to medium body size, dorsoventrally compressed; snout bluntly rounded, slightly protruding; canthus rostralis sharp; loreal region not concave, vertical; eyes large, protuberant, pupil horizontal oval; tympanum round, distinct; supratympanic fold present; tips of fingers and toes without disc; dorsal surface tuberous with large tubercles of different size; eyes with a series of short palpebral horns on the upper eyelid; dorsolateral folds absent; ventral surfaces smooth; coloration of dorsum light-brown with dark spots, alternating orange to beige spots; ventrally marbled with alternating dark and orange spots; iris brown.

Ecological notes. The individuals were found at ca. 1900–2300 h on the ground along the trail and near a small runoff stream. The surrounding habitat was polydominant high-elevation broadleaved montane forest.

Distribution. In Laos, this species has been previously recorded only from Houaphan Province (Teynié et al. 2014). This is the second record from the country as well as the first from Xiangkhouang Province. Elsewhere, this species has been reported from China and northern Vietnam ( Frost 2020).

Remarks. We follow Chen et al. (2017) in recognizing Xenophrys as a distinct genus. Megophrys latidactyla was recently described from Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province of Vietnam, not far from the Vietnam- Lao international border and adjacent to Xiangkhouang Province of Laos ( Orlov et al. 2015). More recently, Wu et al. (2019) suggested Megophrys latidactyla is a junior synonym of Xenophrys palpebralespinosa .