Seven new species of Night Frogs (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot of India, with remarkably high diversity of diminutive forms

Sonali Garg; Robin Suyesh; Sandeep Sukesan; S D Biju

doi:10.7717/peerj.3007

Seven new species of Night Frogs (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot of India, with remarkably high diversity of diminutive forms

PeerJ. 2017 Feb 21:5:e3007. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3007. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Sonali Garg¹, Robin Suyesh¹, Sandeep Sukesan², S D Biju¹

Affiliations

¹ Systematics Lab, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi , Delhi , India.
² Kerala Forest Department, Periyar Tiger Reserve , Kerala , India.

Abstract

The Night Frog genus Nyctibatrachus (Family Nyctibatrachidae) represents an endemic anuran lineage of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India. Until now, it included 28 recognised species, of which more than half were described recently over the last five years. Our amphibian explorations have further revealed the presence of undescribed species of Nights Frogs in the southern Western Ghats. Based on integrated molecular, morphological and bioacoustic evidence, seven new species are formally described here as Nyctibatrachus athirappillyensis sp. nov., Nyctibatrachus manalari sp. nov., Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani sp. nov., Nyctibatrachus radcliffei sp. nov., Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei sp. nov., Nyctibatrachus sabarimalai sp. nov. and Nyctibatrachus webilla sp. nov., thereby bringing the total number of valid Nyctibatrachus species to 35 and increasing the former diversity estimates by a quarter. Detailed morphological descriptions, comparisons with other members of the genus, natural history notes, and genetic relationships inferred from phylogenetic analyses of a mitochondrial dataset are presented for all the new species. Additionally, characteristics of male advertisement calls are described for four new and three previously known species. Among the new species, six are currently known to be geographically restricted to low and mid elevation regions south of Palghat gap in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one is probably endemic to high-elevation mountain streams slightly northward of the gap in Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, four new species are also among the smallest known Indian frogs. Hence, our discovery of several new species, particularly of easily overlooked miniaturized forms, reiterates that the known amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats of India still remains underestimated.

Keywords: Amphibians; Ancient lineage; Bioacoustics; DNA barcoding; Endemism; Integrative systematics; Miniature frogs; Nyctibatrachus; Species diversity; Western Ghats.

Grants and funding

This study was partially supported by the following grants to SDB: Critical Ecosystem partnership Fund, Conservation International, USA (Project 55918/2009); University of Delhi Research and Development Grants 2011–12, 2014–15 and 2015–16; DST Purse Grant Phase I (2009–2013) and Phase II (2015–16), Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. SG received research fellowships from University of Delhi, University Teaching Assistantship Scheme (2010/56562), and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR No. 9/45(1381)/2015-EMR-I). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.