In order to determine diagnostic characters which differentiate the Japanese pond frogs, Rana nigromaculata and three forms of R. brevipoda, four characters, each divided into three character states, were chosen according to the shape and distribution of temporal dark spots, and variations in these characters were statistically analysed within and among the four forms. Among the four characters selected, the shape of the dark spot (s) behind the dark band on the supratympanic fold and the distance between these two markings were most stable within forms and most different between nigromaculata and forms of brevipoda, which suggests that they are of value in differentiating these two species.
The Quaternary climate affected the present species richness and geographic distribution patterns of amphibians by limiting their activities during the glacial period.The present study examined the phylogenetic relationships of Japanese toads (Bufo japonicus and B. torrenticola) and the demography of each lineage from the past to the present based on mitochondrial sequences and ecological niche models.Japanese toads are a monophyletic group with two main clades (clades A and B).Clade A represents B. j. formosus, including three clades (clades A1, A2, and A3).Clade B contains three clades, two of which corresponded to B. j. japonicus (clades B1 and B2) and the other to B. torrenticola.Clade B2 and B. torrenticola made a sister group, and, thus, B. j. japonicus is paraphyletic.Clades A and B diverged in the late Miocene 5.7 million years ago (Mya) during the formation of the Japanese archipelago.The earliest divergence between the three clades of clade A was estimated at 1.8 Mya.Clades A1 and A2 may have diverged at 0.8 Mya, resulting from the isolation in the multiple different refugia; however, the effects of the glacial climate on the divergence events of clade A3 are unclear.Divergences within clade B occurred from the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene (3.2-2.2Mya).Niche similarity between the parapatric clade in clade B (clades B1 and B2) indicated their allopatric divergence.It was suggested that niche segregation between B. japonicus and B. torrenticola contributed to a rapid adaptation of B. torrenticola for lotic breeding.All clade of Japanese toads retreated to each refugium at a low elevation in the glacial period, and effective population sizes increased to construct the current populations after the Last Glacial Maximum.Furthermore, we highlight the areas of climate stability from the last glacial maximum to the present that have served as the refugia of Japanese toads and, thus, affected their present distribution patterns.
A new species of Leptolalax is described from Kinabalu National Park in western Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The new species had been assigned to L. dringi, L. gracilis, or L. fritinniens in the past. It differs from all congeners, including these species, by a unique combination of morphological characters, including small body size, rounded snout, narrower interorbital than upper eyelid, basal toe webbing, smooth skin with tiny tubercles on dorsum and dorsal side of head, small pectoral glands, absence of supraaxillary glands and ventrolateral glandular ridges, spotted venter, advertisement call consisting of long series of 1–149 notes, each composed of three or four pulses, and dominant frequency at 6.90–7.35 kHz, without prominent frequency modulation.
Rana laterimaculata Barbour et Noble, 1916 had been previously regarded as a junior synonym of R. baramica Boettger, 1901 by Inger (1966). An examination of literature, photographs, and live and preserved specimens revealed that visible and audible differences were apparent between two ‘forms’ of R. ‘baramica’, which may even be sympatric in some localities. The acoustic characters of the two ‘forms’ are analysed and compared. Rana laterimaculata is here recognized as a valid species and a neotype is assigned in place of the missing holotype. The species is redescribed and diagnostic differences separating it from R. baramica are explained. The present known distribution of both species is provided. Both species are confined to the Sunda region.
We examined the diet of Hyla japonica, a prolonged breeder, in the reproductive season (early May to late July). This species breeds in rice fields. Females attended the breeding site only at the time of spawning, but males remained and foraged in rice fields for their continuous advertising during the prolonged season. A high frequency of empty stomachs and fewer and less stomach contents observed at the beginning of the breeding season, may result from energetic constraints associated with reproduction in males. Diverse ground-dwelling invertebrates predominated in the diet, but aquatic organisms were quite few. We estimated the prey availability in the environment by sweeps. The most easily available prey such as ants, beetles, dipterans, caterpillars, and spiders were numerously consumed by frogs. Significant correlations between the diet compositions and prey availability suggest that H. japonica is an opportunistic predator.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)