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Issue: Vol. 5477 No. 2: 8 Jul. 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-07-08
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5477.2.6
Page range: 219-236
Abstract views: 92
PDF downloaded: 4

New records of the primarily Sri Lankan Pseudophilautus regius (Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda, 2005) (Amphibia; Rhacophoridae) from the Eastern Ghats of India, crossing the Palk Strait saltwater barrier in the Indian Ocean

Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad 500048
Zoological Survey of India; Western Regional Centre; Pune; Maharashtra; 411 044
Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad 500048
Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board; Guntur District; Andhra Pradesh; 522510
Zoological Survey of India; Western Regional Centre; Pune; Maharashtra; 411 044
Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad 500048
Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad 500048
Amphibia Brown-eared shrub frog oceanic dispersal Pseudophilautus regius Eastern Ghats Salt water barrier

Abstract

Pseudophilautus regius is a bush frog originally described from the dry zones of Sri Lanka. In the present study, P. regius is being reported from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India as a new record for the country. The Indian population of P. regius being polytypic, identity confirmation was aided by genetic data. Earlier data for the genus Pseudophilautus indicated that three endemic species were known from the Western Ghats, India and 75 endemic species occurred in Sri Lanka. This report forms the first report of a bush frog exhibiting distribution in both India and Sri Lanka across the saltwater barrier of the Palk Strait in the Indian ocean. Discussions are made regarding other lineages which have distributions across both India and Sri Lanka.

 

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