Calluella minuta, Das & Yaakob, 2004

Das, Indraneil & Yaakob, Norsham, 2004, A New Species Of Calluella Stoliczka, 1872 (Anura: Microhylidae) From Taman Negara, Pahang State, Peninsular Malaysia, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (1), pp. 257-260 : 258-260

Calluella minuta , new species

( Fig. 1 )

Material examined. – Holotype - ZRC A.10888 (ex-DWNP A.0971) from forest trail along Sungai Relau (04º 40’ 46.3”N; 102º 03’ 21.2”E), Merapoh , Taman Negara, Pahang State, Peninsular Malaysia, altitude 167 m ASL, coll. N. Yaakob, I. Das & B.-L. Lim, 17 Oct.2001. Adult male.

Calluella, SVL 30.9 mm; body rounded, roughly triangular, depressed; head wider than long ( HW /HL ratio 1.65); snout obtusely pointed when viewed dorsally and laterally; projecting slightly beyond mandible; nostrils laterally positioned, nearer tip of snout than to eye (E-N/E-S ratio 0.59); internarial distance greater than distance from anterior margin of eye to nostril ( IN /E-N ratio 1.21); eye small ( ED / HL ratio 0.73); its diameter less than eye to nostril distance ( ED /E-N ratio 2.53); interorbital width greater than upper eyelid width ( IO /UE ratio 2.47); canthus rostralis obtuse; loreal region vertical; maxillary teeth present; a weak ‘W’- shaped notch (= symphysial knob) on anterior edge of mandible; mouth extends to posterior corner of eye; choanae located against anterior of palate, partially visible when viewed from below; vomerine teeth set on two straight transverse ridges behind choanae and exceeding level of their outer edges, separated by a narrow mesial diastema; paired dermal ridges across palate; tongue oval, smooth, slightly nicked apically, free for approximately half its length; pupil rounded; tympanum distinct; supratympanic fold from posterior corner of orbit to before insertion of forelimbs; a second dermal fold starts slightly behind midorbital area, crosses well over tympanum, and terminates around middle of torso; dorsum with rounded warts arranged symmetrically from scapular region to middle of dorsum, interrupted as raised tubercles on posterior third of its length; oval, paired median subgular vocal sac.

Fore limbs short; fingers free of web or skin fringes; three metacarpal tubercles; relative length of fingers (measurements in parentheses, in mm): 3 (5.0)> 2 (3.7)> 4 (3.3)> 1 (2.7); finger tips pointed; subarticular tubercles prominent, rounded, numbering one on first and second fingers, two on third and fourth fingers; fleshy palmar tubercles; nuptial pads absent on fingers; no enlarged glands on lower arm.

Hind limbs short; a few tubercles on dorsal surfaces of thigh and tibia; toes webbed up to middle of phalanges; webbing on toe 1 basal; on toe II basal (inner) and top of outer phalange (outer); toe III distal subarticular tubercles (inner and outer); toe IV median subarticular tubercle (inner and outer); and Paratypes - FRIM 0579 (ex-DWNP A.0970), paratopotype, other data as for holotype; adult female; ZRC 1.2919 from Kuala Tahan, Taman Negara, Pahang State, Peninsular Malaysia; coll. J. R. Hendrickson, 12 Oct.1958.

Diagnosis. – A small (SVL 32.7 mm in the largest of the three specimens known, an adult male) species of Calluella , diagnosable from congeneric species in showing the following combination of characters: no dermal fold across forehead; tympanum present; toe tips obtuse; webbing on toe IV broad up to median subarticular tubercle; webbing reaching tip of all toes as narrow sheaths; outer metatarsal tubercle present; and dorsum yellowish-brown with darker variegations.

Description of holotype (adult male). – A small species of toe V top of outer phalange; relative length of toes (measurements in parentheses, in mm): 4 (13.2)> 5 (7.1)> 3 (5.0)> 2 (4.5)> 1 (1.7); toe obtuse, rounded, but not dilated; subarticular tubercles prominent, rounded, numbering one on first and second toes; two on third and fifth toes; and three on fourth toe; a large, crescentic inner and a small, compressed outer metatarsal tubercles.

Dorsum granular, eyelids and upper surfaces of limbs smooth; supratympanic fold extends from near middle of orbit of eye to around middle of torso; abdomen and inner side of thighs finely glanular.

Colour. – In life, Clay Color (Color 26 of Smith, 1975) or yellowish-brown dorsally, with Warm Sepia (Color 221A) or a dark grey-brown triangular mark, wide anteriorly in interorbital region, diverging to meet two enlarged tubercles above scapular region, and converging around scapular region, becoming indistinct posteriorly as it extends to middle of body as two diverging points; supratympanic and dermal fold dorsal to it with an interrupted pale-edged dark line; flanks slightly darker; throat and undersurfaces of arm and thighs variegated with grey; pectoral and abdominal regions unpatterned cream; posterior of thighs and region around vent dark grey-brown; shanks and tarsus with a dark brown stripe; dark stripe on thigh-tibiotarsal region; digits of fingers and toes with dark bands; palms and soles dark grey; and undersurfaces of fingers pale yellow with some dark grey areas. The female paratype is similar to the holotype, except for a pale yellow throat, the margins of which are variegated with grey.

Measurements (in mm; holotype followed by the female paratype and male paratype, respectively, in parentheses). – SVL 30.9 (25.5, 32.7); HL 6.6 (6.0, 7.1); HW 10.9 (9.3, 11.3); HD 7.4 (5.3, 7.2); BW 17.3 (9.0, 15.2); TBL 14.6 (12.0, 15.6); TD (vertical) 1.8 (0.8, 1.7); TD (horizontal) 1.8 (0.8, 1.2); ED 4.8 (2.5, 3.0); UE 1.9 (1.5, 1.6); IN 2.3 (2.2, 1.7); IO 4.7 (4.1, 4.8); E-S 3.2 (3.0, 3.9); E-T 1.6 (1.0, 1.5); E-N 1.9 (1.8, 1.7); and A-G 12.6 (11.0, 15.1).

Etymology. – Latin for tiny. The new Peninsular Malaysian species is among the smallest member of the genus.

Ecological notes. – Two specimens from the type series were collected along a road pathway from Merapoh head quarters to the last outpost at Kuala Sungai Juran, in lowland dipterocarp forest, during torrential rains, coinciding with the early Northeast Monsoons. The following species of amphibians were found sympatric with the new species: Bufonidae : Bufo asper and B. parvus ; Megophryidae : Megophrys nasuta ; Microhylidae : Kaloula baleata , Microhyla butleri , M. heymonsi , Microhyla sp. 3 and Micryletta inornata ; Ranidae : Amolops larutensis , Fejervarya cf. limnocharis , Limnonectes blythii , Rana erythraea , R. hosii , R. laterimaculata , R. miopus , R. nicobariensis , R, raniceps and R. aff. signata ; and Rhacophoridae : Polypedates colletti , P. leucomystax , P. macrotis , Rhacophorus pardalis , R. prominanus and R. reinwardtii . Additional amphibians recorded by Berry (1975: 111) from the Pahang portion of Taman Negara include Ichthyophis sp. (reported as I. glutinosus , this nominal species is now restricted to Sri Lanka, and the identity of the Taman Negara population requires further study), Calluella volzi (see below), Leptolalax gracilis , Leptobrachium hasselti , L. heteropus , Ansonia malayana , A. penangensis , Leptophryne borbonica , Pedostibes hosii , Limnonectes doriae , L. plicatellus , Occidozyga laevis , Rana luctuosa , R. nigrovittata , Nyctixalus pictus , Philautus vermiculatus , Rhacophorus (presumably aff.) appendiculatus, Kalophrynus pleurostigma , Kaloula pulchra , Microhyla berdmorei , M. palmipes and M. superciliaris . The record of Calluella volzi from the Park by Berry (1975), also cited by Kiew (1990) is based on a specimen collected by John Roscoe Hendrickson, ZRC 1.2919 (ex – JRH 3192), which was made part of the type series.

The stomach and intestines of the holotype contained the remains of large black ants. The eggs, tadpoles as well as call of the new species of Calluella remain unknown.

Remarks. – The new species from Merapoh, Taman Negara is compared with all known congeners, listing only opposing suites of characters for congeners:

Calluella brooksii (Boulenger, 1905) , distribution: Bidi, in the Bau region of western Sarawak, SVL 51-55 mm in males, 60 mm in females (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 46), besides a larger adult size; pupil vertical; tympanum concealed; toes basally webbed; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; and dorsum with scattered black dots; C. flava Kiew, 1984 , distribution: Camp 5 to Sungai Besar Camp, Gunung Mulu National Park, northern Sarawak, SVL 35 mm in the only specimen known (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 46), whose sex was unspecified, toes basally webbed; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; and dorsum orange-yellow; C. guttulata (Blyth, 1856) , distribution: Southern Myanmar, through the Central Highlands of Vietnam and Laos to the northern Malay Peninsula, SVL 34-45 mm in males, 38-50 mm in females (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 46), besides a larger adult size, tympanum concealed; one phalange free of web on toes I, II and V; webbing on toe IV broad up to basal subarticular tubercle, reaching penultimate tubercle as a narrow sheath; and finger II> finger IV; C. smithi (Barbour & Noble, 1916) , distribution: Sungai Limbang, northern Sarawak, SVL 37- 39 mm in females; male size range remains unknown (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 46), besides a larger adult size, tympanum concealed; toe tips with disks; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; dorsum smooth; toes basally webbed; and flanks with pink-edged black blotches; C. volzi (van Kampen, 1905) , distribution: Sumatra; this species is hereby removed from the fauna of the Malay Peninsula (see ‘Ecological notes’), SVL 34 mm in the only specimen known, a male (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 46), besides a larger adult size, tympanum concealed; toe tips dilated; toes two-thirds webbed; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; dermal fold in interorbital region typically present; and dorsum reddishbrown, with black spots; and C. yunnanensis Boulenger, 1919 , distribution: Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces of southern China, SVL 30-37.2 mm in males, 40-48.8 mm in females (Yang, 1991: 225), toe tips swollen, toe webbing described as two-thirds, the webbing membrane between toe Inger, R. F., N. Orlov & I. Darevsky, 1999. Frogs of Vietnam: a III and IV reaching beyond level of distal tubercle of toe III report on new collections. Fieldiana Zoology new series, (92): (Parker, 1934: 29); interorbital fold present; and dorsum pale i-iv + 1-46.

pinkish-grey with traces of a dark lateral band from canthus Inger, R. F. & R. B. Stuebing, 1997. A field guide to the frogs of rostralis to midflanks. Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn Bhd/Science and Technology Unit, Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. Pp. x + 205. Bahasa

Malaysia edition, 1999, Panduan lapangan katak-katak Borneo.

Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn Bhd/Jabatan Muzium ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. Pp. x + 225 .

We thank our respective institutions, the Institute of Iskandar, D. T. & E. Colijn, 2000. Preliminary checklist of southeast

Asian and New Guinean herpetofauna. I. Amphibians. Treubia, Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti

31 (3)(Suppl.): 1-133.

Malaysia Sarawak, Forest Research Institute Malaysia and

Department of Wildlife and National Parks, for supporting Kiew, B. H., 1984. A new species of burrowing frog ( Calluella flava our researches on the herpetology of south-east Asia. sp. nov.) from Borneo. Malayan Nature Journal, 37: 163-166. Permission and facilities to conduct field work in Merapoh, Kiew, B. H., 1990. Amphibian fauna of Taman Negara. The Journal Taman Negara was provided by Sahir bin Othman, Director of Wildlife and Parks, 10: 96-108.

of Research and Conservation Division, Jabatan Perlindungan Leviton, A. E., S. C. Anderson, R. H. Gibbs, E. Heal & C. E. Dawson, Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (PERHILITAN). Finally, 1985. Standards in herpetology and ichthyology. Part I. Standard we thank Peter Kee Lin Ng, Chang Man Yang and Kelvin symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in Kok Peng Lim for facilities at the ZRC and Robert Inger and herpetology and ichthyology. Copeia, 1985: 802-832.

Annemarie Ohler, for comments on the manuscript. Manthey, U. & W. Grossmann, 1997. Amphibien & Reptilien

Südostasiens. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster. Pp. 512.

Nieden, F., 1923. Anura I. Subordo Aglossa und Phaneroglossa , LITERATURE CITED Sectio I Arcifera. Das Tierreich, 46: i-xxxii + 1-584.

Parker, H. W., 1934. A monograph of the frogs of the family Barbour , T. & G. K. Noble, 1916. New amphibians and a new Microhylidae . British Museum (Natural History), London. Pp. reptile from Sarawak. Proceedings of the New England (1) + viii + 208. Reprinted 1966, Johnson, New York.

Zoölogical Club, 6: 19-22, Pl. 2.

Smith, F. B., 1975. Naturalist’s color guide. Parts I and II. American Berry, P. Y., 1975. The amphibian fauna of peninsular Malaysia. Museum of Natural History, New York. Part I: Pp. 8 + 18 colour Tropical Press, Kuala Lumpur. Pp. x + 130. swatches; Part II: Pp. xiii + 229.

Blyth, E., 1856. Report for October meeting. Journal of the Asiatic Smith, F. B., 1981. Naturalist’s color guide. Part III. American Society of Bengal, 24 (7): 711-723. Museum of Natural History, New York. Pp. (iv) + 37.

Boulenger, G. A.,1905. Description of a new genus of frogs of Stoliczka,F., 1872. Notes on a few Burmese species of Sauria, the family Dyscophidae ,and list of the genera and species of Ophidia and Batrachia. Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of that family. Annals and Magazines of Natural History, Series Bengal, 1872: 143-147.

7, 13: 42-44.

Taylor, E. H., 1962. The amphibian fauna of Thailand. University Boulenger, G. A.,1919. Descriptionof a new dyscophid frog from

of Kansas Science Bulletin, 63 (8): 265-599; errata (= 1 p).

Yunnan. Annals and Magazines of Natural History , Series 9, 3 :

549. van Kampen, P. N.,1905.Amphibien von Palembang (Sumatra).

Zoologischer Jahrbücher Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie Fei, L., C.-Y. Ye, Y.-Z. Huang & M.-Y. Liu (eds.), 1999. Atlas of

und Geographie der Tiere, 22: 701-716, Pl. 26.

amphibians of China. China Wildlife Protection Association,

Henan Publishing House of Science and Technology, van Kampen, P.N., 1923. The Amphibia of the Indo-Australian Zhengzhou, Henan. Pp. (2) + 432. [in Chinese.] Archipelago. E. J. Brill, Leiden. Pp. xii + 304.

Frost, D. R. (ed.), 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic Wu, L., G. Diong & R.-H. Xu, 1987. [Amphibian fauna of Guizhou.] and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and Association Guizhou Peoples Press, Guiyang. Pp. (7) + 4 + 192, Pls. 46, of Systematics Collections, Lawrence. Pp. (iv) + 732. folding map 1. [in Chinese.]

Inger, R. F., 1966. The systematics and zoogeography of the Yang, D.-T. (ed.), 1991. Amphibian-fauna of Yunnan. China Forestry Amphibia of Borneo. Fieldiana Zoology, 52: 1-402. Reprinted Publ. House, Beijing. Pp. (1) + (1) + (3) + iv + 259. [in Chinese; 1990, Lun Hing Trading Company, Kota Kinabalu. authors: S.-M. Li, W.-Z. Liu, S.-Q. Lü, B.-L. Wu & D.-T. Yang.]

Figures

Fig. 1. Dorsolateral view of holotype of Calluella minuta, new species (ZRC A.10888) in life.