Uperodon taprobanicus
Creators: name: Garg, Sonali
name: Senevirathne, Gayani
name: Wijayathilaka, Nayana
name: Phuge, Samadhan
name: Deuti, Kaushik
name: Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum
name: Meegaskumbura, Madhava
name: Biju, Sd
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Microhylidae
Uperodon
Uperodon taprobanicus

description: Uperodon taprobanicus (Parker, 1934)
Painted Globular Frog
(Figs. 1, 2A–B, 3C, 4M–P, 5C, 6A–C; Tables 1–4)
Original name and description. Kaloula pulchra taprobanica Parker, 1934. A Monograph of the frogs of the family Microhylidae. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 86–87. Holotype. By original designation, NHM 1905.3.25.138 (ex. BMNH 1947.2.10.62), an adult female, SVL 54.9 mm. Type locality. “Punduloya”, Sri Lanka. Current status of specific name. Valid name, as Uperodon taprobanicus (Parker, 1934).
Comment. Even though Parker (1934) provided a description for this nominal taxon, considering its recent taxonomic placement in the genus Uperodon, here we provide a detailed description of the holotype and comparison of the species with all its presently recognized congeners.
Comparison. Uperodon taprobanicus differs from all other known members of the genus by presence of two well-developed neopalatinal ridges on posterior side of each choana, fused with the vomerine odontophores (vs. prominent dermal projections on the neopalatinal ridges on posterior side of each choana, separated from the vomerine odontophores in U. globulosus and U. systoma; indistinct or weakly-developed neopalatinal ridges in all other species), and its dorsum being light to dark grey with prominent red or reddish-orange blotches (vs. absent). Specifically, it differs from U. globulosus and U. systoma by its smaller snout-vent size, male SVL 42–52 mm, female SVL 53–55 mm (vs. larger, U. globulosus: male SVL 51–56 mm, female SVL 66–72 mm; U. systoma: male SVL 51–56 mm, female SVL 47–64 mm), and tips of fingers with discs (vs. rounded, without discs); and from other members of the genus by its larger snout-vent size, male SVL 42–52 mm, female SVL 53–55 mm (vs.
smaller, male SVL 21–40 mm, female SVL 28–43 mm). Uperodon taprobanicus also differs from all other known Uperodon species, except U. globulosus, in having undivided prevomers (vs. divided prevomers).
Genetic divergence. For 16S mitochondrial gene sequences, the sampled populations of Uperodon taprobanicus showed an average intraspecific distance of 0.3% (range 0–1.2%, N = 9). The sample from Odisha showed a divergence of up to 1.2% from the typical populations. Genetically, U. taprobanicus is the most divergent member of the genus and shows high interspecific genetic distances with all the other known members (see Table 3).
Redescription of holotype (measurements in mm) (Figs. 3C, 4M–P). Large-sized (SVL 54.9), globular and robust adult female; head small (HW 16.5, HL 12.4, IFE 8.0, IBE 14.9), less than one-fourth (22.6%) of body length, wider than long (HW/HL ratio 1.3); snout truncate in dorsal and ventral view, vertical in lateral view, its length (SL 5.2) longer than horizontal diameter of eye (EL 4.7); loreal region obtuse with rounded canthus rostralis; interorbital space wider (IUE 5.7) than upper eyelid (UEW 3.8); nostril oval without lateral flap of skin, closer to tip of snout (NS 1.6) than to eye (EN 2.9); tympanum not visible externally, distinct supratympanic fold extending from posterior corner of upper eyelid near to insertion of forelimb at axilla; eye diameter (EL 4.7); vomerine odontophores present on the palate, without teeth; presence of two prominent neopalatinal ridges on posterior side of each choana, fused with the vomerine odontophores (Fig. 5C); tongue moderately large, rounded, shallowly emarginated. Forearms (FAL 16.8) shorter than hand length (HAL 24.5); finger length formula I<II<IV<III; tips of all fingers with truncate discs; webbing absent between fingers; subarticular tubercles rather well-developed, oval, all present; two well-developed palmar tubercles, inner one oval and smaller, and outer one bilobed. Hind limbs relatively short and strong, thigh length (TL 20.8) longer than shank (SHL 17.2) and foot (FOL 19.9); tips of all toes rounded, slightly enlarged, without discs; webbing present, small: I2 – 2II 2– – 3III 2 – 3 1/ 3IV 3 1/3 – 2V; weakly-developed dermal fringes present on all toes; subarticular tubercles well-developed, oval, all present; two shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercles (inner, 1.4 mm long; outer, 3.1 mm long).
Skin of dorsum, sides of head, and dorsal parts of forelimb, thigh, tibia and tarsus, shagreened with scattered glandular projections (Figs. 3C, 4M–P); posterior parts of thigh, especially cloacal region, distinctly granular. Ventral surface of throat granular, chest and belly, sparsely granular (Fig. 3C).
Colouration. In preservation: Dorsum light brown with large irregular greyish-brown blotches, a dark grey stripe between eyes, flanks and lateral sides of abdomen lighter brown in colour compared to dorsum; chest, belly and ventral surfaces of thigh, tibia and foot, light greyish-brown with dark brown mottling (Fig. 3C). Colour in life (SDBDU 2014.2567): Dorsal surface of head, anterior and posterior parts of back, brown and having brick-red blotches with dark brown margins, brick-red stripe with dark brown margin between eyes, lateral surfaces of head light brick-red, and flanks light brown with grey reticulations; forelimbs, dorsal surfaces of thigh, shank and foot, light brown with dark blackish-brown spots and brick red patches; fingers and toes light brown with grey spots; anterior part of thigh and groin brown with light grey reticulations; throat, chest and belly, light reddish-brown with uniform light grey reticulations except on fingers and toes (Figs. 6A–C).
Variations. Morphometric measurements for five specimens, including the holotype, are given in Table 4. SDBDU 2005.3107: dorsal skin sparsely granular; throat prominently granular, chest and belly sparsely granular; anterior parts of thigh prominently granular. SDBDU 2005.4732A: dorsal skin coarsely granular; ventral surface prominently granular, especially throat region; anterior parts of thigh, shank and groin, light greyish-brown with creamy white mottling.
Secondary sexual characters. Male (SDBDU 2005.4732A): vocal sac externally visible on the lower jaw; female (Holotype): ova white, pigmented on pole (diameter 0.8–1.2 mm, N = 10).
Geographical distribution and habitat. Uperodon taprobanicus is widely distributed in India and Sri Lanka, and also reported from Bangladesh and Nepal (Fig. 2B). In India, it has been reported from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. In Sri Lanka, it is known from Central, Eastern, North Western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Uva Provinces. For detailed list of localities and references thereto see Supplementary Table S1. In the present study, we collected and genetically confirmed the presence of this species in Tamil Nadu (Mamallapuram), Kerala (Mannuthy, Kalpetta and Sulthanbathery), Karnataka (Bangalore) and Odisha in India, and Central (Dambulla) and North Western (Karawaddana) regions of Sri Lanka. It was observed in roadside puddles, wall crevices, cultivated fields and tree holes in both primary and secondary forests, from sea level up to 950 m asl. See ‘Natural history and breeding’ observations in the respective section, after the species accounts.
description: Published as part of Garg, Sonali, Senevirathne, Gayani, Wijayathilaka, Nayana, Phuge, Samadhan, Deuti, Kaushik, Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum, Meegaskumbura, Madhava & Biju, Sd, 2018, An integrative taxonomic review of the South Asian microhylid genus Uperodon, pp. 1-88 in Zootaxa 4384 (1) on pages 21-22, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4384.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1183455