Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
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Family : RANIDAE
Species : Sylvirana malayana
Size (snout to vent) :
Females to 5.7 cm, Males to 4.9 cm
Sylvirana malayana
('Malayan Black-striped Frog') is the most distinctive species in the group
of frogs formerly lumped together as a single species under the name of Sylvirana
nigrovittata. This group of 'black-striped frogs' were split into at
least eight species in 2018, five of which were 'new to science' (Sheridan
& Stuart, 2018).
Members of this group have "a pale brown to dark brown dorsum; flank
generally darker than dorsum; dorsolateral folds, with a black band
(sometimes broken) of variable width extending from the tip of the snout to
the groin along the lower margin of the dorsolateral fold; cream venter,
sometimes with dark spotting" (Sheridan & Stuart, 2018).
Sylvirana malayana occurs in streams, small rivers, lakes and other
waterbodies in the southern parts of peninsular Thailand (e.g. Ranong,
Krabi, Surat Thani), parts of peninsular Myanmar (e.g. Tanintharyi State),
and northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia (e.g. the states of Kedah and
Perak).
Based on a photograph by L. Lee Grismer, Sylvirana malayana is
described in Sheridan & Stuart (2018) as: "Dorsum medium brown with
very small dark spots. Lips white. Distinct, broad dark band extending along
ventral margin of dorsolateral fold from snout to groin. Flank dark on
dorsal half, creamy white on ventral half, with strong demarcation between
the two colors. Few dark brown spots on lower half of flank. Dorsal surfaces
of forelimbs medium brown with dark brown spots. Dorsal surfaces of
hindlimbs with dark brown cross bars. Inguinal region with yellow
wash."
This species is closely related to Sylvirana
mortenseni ('Mortensen's Frog').
Figs 1 to 3 : Typical examples found in an ornamental garden at Pulau Banding, Temenggor
Lake, northern Peninsular Malaysia. The thick, dark stripe along the
upper flanks is well-developed in these individuals.
References :
Sheridan JA, Stuart BL (2018) Hidden species diversity in Sylvirana
nigrovittata (Amphibia: Ranidae) highlights the importance of
taxonomic revisions in biodiversity conservation. PLoS ONE 13(3):
e0192766.
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