First record of the Vietnam Flying Frog, Rhacophorus calcaneus Smith, 1924, from Khanh Hoa Province, including the first molecular identification and morphological description of larval stages

摘要

We herein report the first record of the Vietnam Flying Frog, Rhacophorus calcaneus Smith, 1924, which is previously known only from Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces, from Hon Ba Nature Reserve, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. We further describe the larval morphology of the species for the first time, based on a tadpole collection from Hon Ba which was genetically matched with topotypic metamorphosed Rhacophorus and R. calcaneus from Dak Lak Province. Morphological characters of the tadpoles (Gosner stages 32, 36, 37 and 41) are as follows: Body and tail brown with numerous dark spots, ventral surface whitish. Body medium-sized, slightly depressed, elliptical in shape. Eyes of moderate size, located dorsolaterally. In lateral view, spiracle single, sinistral; lower and upper tail fin nearly of same size. Oral disc anteroventrally positioned, of trapezoidal shape and laterally emarginated, surrounded by papillae. Keratodont row formula (LTRF): 7(2-7)/3(1). Larvae are exotrophic, lentic: benthic; larval type after Orton (1953) is type IV.