Walkerana (Dahanukar, 2016)

Dinesh, K. P., Vijayakumar, S. P., Ramesh, Vijay, Jayarajan, Aditi, Chandramouli, S. R. & Shanker, Kartik, 2020, A deeply divergent lineage of Walkerana (Anura: Ranixalidae) from the Western Ghats of Peninsular India, Zootaxa 4729 (2), pp. 266-276 : 269-273

Phylogeny of Walkerana and generic allocation of the new lineage

Among the members of Ranixalidae , we recovered two well supported clades assignable to the genera, Walkerana and Indirana , as in the studies of Dahanukar et al. (2016) and Garg & Biju (2016). The new deeply divergent lineage is assigned to the genus Walkerana , based on its phylogenetic position within Ranixalidae ( Fig. 2 ).

Key to the species of Walkerana in the Western Ghats

(modified after Dahanukar et al. 2016)

1. canthus rostralis indistinct; skin glandular, warty........................................ W. phrynoderma ( Fig. 5B )

- canthus rostralis distinct, angular; skin smooth.............................................................. 2

2. distinct black band from the tip of snout to end of supratympanic fold through the entire canthus rostralis and black spot on the region of loin (with lumbar spots)...................................................... W. diplosticta ( Fig. 5D )

- absence of black spot on the loin and the black band on the face not covering the entire region of canthus rostralis........ 3

3. head longer than wide; snout longer than eye diameter; tympanum three-fourth of the diameter of eye; a brown streak from tip of snout to anterior corner of eye...................................................... W. leptodactyla ( Fig. 5C )

- head length equal to head width; snout equal to eye diameter; tympanum relatively smaller than the diameter of eye; a brown streak from tip of snout to end of supratympanic fold.................................. W. muduga sp. nov. ( Fig. 5A )

Figures

FIGURE 2. Bayesian tree of the genus Walkerana with posterior probability values indicated on the respective nodes.

FIGURE 5. Extant congeners of Walkerana in life (A) Walkerana muduga sp. nov.; B) W. phrynoderma; C) W. leptodactyla; D) W. diplosticta.