Herpetofaunal diversity of Ha Giang Province in northeastern Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species

Title Variants

Alternative: Herpetofauna of Ha Giang

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3453

By

Bain, Raoul H.

Nguyễn, Quảng Trường.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2004

Notes

Caption title.

"August 23, 2004."

In April and May of 2000, herpetological surveys of Ha Giang Province, Vietnam, near the Chinese border were undertaken. Surveys concentrated on isolated forests of Mount Tay Con Linh II (contiguous with the highest peak in eastern Vietnam, Mt. Tay Con Linh). The 26-day survey yielded 36 species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles. The collection contains elements of Himalayan as well as Indo-Malayan assemblages and documents a new country record (Philautus rhododiscus), eight new records east of the Red River (Bombina microdeladigitora, Megophrys parva, Amolops chapaensis, Chaparana delacouri, Chirixalus gracilipes, Philautus odontotarsus, Polypedates dugritei, Rhacophorus hoanglienensis), seven species complexes (Fejervarya limnocharis, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus, Limnonectes kuhlii, Rana chloronota, R. maosonensis, Polypedates dugritei, and P. leucomystax), three unidentified amphibian species, and two previously undescribed species of cascade ranid (Rana iriodes, new species and Rana tabaca, new species). Rana iriodes differs from R. daorum and Amolops chunganensis in having an iridescent green-gold dorsum, orange-red dorsolateral folds, a goldwhite flank spot, vomerine teeth, and webbing to toe disks. Rana tabaca, new species, can be differentiated from other cascade ranids by a combination of characters: mottled brown upper lip, gold lip line below the eye to the arm insertion, shagreened dorsum, dorsolateral folds, and unpigmented eggs. Species accumulation curves indicate that the diversity of the region is still underestimated, which, along with the relatively extensive remnant forest, underscores the importance for a greater faunal understanding and conservation effort for the montane forests of the region.

Subjects

Amphibians , Biodiversity , Classification , Hà Giang (Province) , Rana iriodes , Rana tabaca , Reptiles , Vietnam

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3453 2004

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2004)453<0001:HDOHGP>2.0.CO;2
OCLC: 56429590