The genus Pelophylax (Amphibia, Ranidae) in Pakistan: museum collections and possible distribution

By

Jablonski, Daniel, 1987-
Wynn, Addison
Masroor, Rafaqat
Papenfuss, Theodore J.
Litrvinchuk, Spartak N
Mazepa, Glib

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-7-27

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

34

Pages

141--147

Subjects

Afghanistan , Biogeography , Bufotes , Central Asia , Chrysopaa , Iran , museum data , Nanorana , Rana

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.34.e64955

 

Abstract

We provide the first comprehensive data on the questionable distribution of the genus Pelophylax and the family Ranidae from Pakistan. Based on a literature review and two specimens of the genus from Tasp, Panjgur District in Pakistani Balochistan (USNM 26194–95), stored in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA, we discuss the possible occurrence and affiliation of these frogs in the context of Central Asia. Our comparison shows that the nearest records of Pelophylax in relation to the Tasp specimens are reported from more than 280 km (air-line) away in Iran and Afghanistan, which are currently separated by hot and mostly desert environments. We suggest that possible surviving populations of this genus may still be present in Balochistan (Rakhshan River) or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Kabul River) Provinces of Pakistan. This would, however, need further field investigations.