Limnonectes sarawakensis Dehling, Neokleous, Das, Grafe, Min & Hertwig, 2025, sp. nov.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Limnonectes sarawakensis sp. nov. Rana microdisca palavanensis (nec Rana palavanensis Boulenger, 1894): Inger 1966: 222 (partim); Inger et al. 1986: 523. Rana palavanensis (nec Rana palavanensis Boulenger, 1894): Inger 1985: 52 (partim); Inger & Voris 1988: 1060 (partim). Limnonectes palavanensis (nec Rana palavanensis Boulenger, 1894)— Das et al. 2016: 19 (partim); Dehling & Dehling 2021: Table A2. Holotype. NMBE 1057455, adult female, from Lambir Hills National Park (4.2°, 114.0°; 100–400 m), Sarawak, Malaysia, collected in September 2010 by A. Haas, S. T. Hertwig and A. Jankowski (Fig. 3G). Paratypes. NMBE 1057451, adult male, collected on 8 September 2010 by A. Haas, S. T. Hertwig, A. Jankowski, NMBE 1069412, adult male, collected on 14 March 2014 by S. T. Hertwig et al., both from Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. NMBE 1101233–1101234, two adult males, NMBE 1101235, juvenile; all from Camp Koyan (3.342366°, 114.177573°; 822 m), High Plateau, Gunung Dulit, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 8 February 2019 by L. Etter, S. T. Hertwig and F. Heussler. NMBE 1101236, adult male, from Summit Trail (2.655489, 112.903817; 185 m), Bukit Kana National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 15 March 2019 by L. Etter, S. T. Hertwig and F. Heussler. NMBE 1101217–1101219, three adults of undetermined sex, from unnamed stream at 537 m (3.096895°, 114.2673°; 537 m), Camp Balah, Gunung Dulit, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 24 February 2019 by L. Etter, L. Fehland, S. T. Hertwig and F. Heussler. NMBE 1101238–1101240, three adults of undetermined sex, from sidestreams and ponds near camp (1.960155°, 114.783815°; 495 m), Long Unai, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 13 March 2018 by S. Cilloni, L. Etter, L. Fehland, S. T. Hertwig, B. Minder and Y. M. Pui. Referred specimens. NMBE 1065274, tadpole, from alluvial forest near headquarters, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 24 March 2009 by A. Haas. ZRC 12728, adult male, from Nanga Tekalit (1.63°, 113.58°), Sarawak, Malaysia, collected on 28 March 1984 by R. F. Inger and P. Walker. Diagnosis. Limnonectes sarawakensis sp. nov. belongs to the L. palavanensis species group, showing the typical characters of the group, including small size (SVL <40 mm); odontoid processes in lower jaw low and inconspicuous in both males and females; dorsum finely shagreened, with prominent longitudinal dorsolateral glandular ridges; interorbital distance equal to or larger than upper eyelid width; toes not fully webbed; and horseshoe-shaped dermal ridge in middle of dorsum posterior to arm insertion. The species differs from all other species of the group by a unique combination of morphological characters, including toe webbing extensive; supratympanic fold strongly curved; pineal spot weakly discernible, anterior to level of anterior upper-eyelid edge; vomer processes long, separated from choana and from each other by about half length of individual process; postpalpebral ridge well developed, from upper eyelid to anterior level of pelvis; median ridge indistinct from level of posterior upper-eyelid edge to horseshoe-shaped ridge, more conspicuous from horseshoe-shaped ridge to vent; lumbar ridge well developed, interrupted; size relatively small with SVL of adult males 25.2–29.7 mm, of adult females 30.1–34.4 mm. The species differs from all other species of the group by at least 5.8% in the sequence of the 16S barcoding gene. The advertisement call is a long rising trill, consisting of 26–32 notes, lasting 1.6– 2.0 s, at a dominant frequency of 1.4–1.8 kHz with a weak frequency modulation and an amplitude maximum at the end of the call. The species is distributed in lowland and submontane rainforests of central and northern Sarawak, between 60 and 1,000 m. Description of holotype. Adult female; SVL 31.2 mm; body moderately sturdy, widest at temporal region, slightly tapering to groin (Fig. 3G); head large (HL/SVL 0.36, HW/SVL 0.37), about as long as wide (HW/HL 1.03); snout long (SL/HL 0.45), subacuminate in dorsal view, rounded and slightly protruding in lateral profile, slightly wider than long (SL/EE 0.92); canthus rostralis moderately distinct between eye and nostril, slightly concave from eye to nostril in dorsal view; loreal region oblique; nostrils rounded, directed dorsolaterally; situated closer to tip of snout and to eye (EN/NS 1.14), separated from each other by distance larger than distance between eye and nostril (NN/EN 1.30); eye directed anterolaterally, moderately protruding, very large (ED/HL 0.35), its diameter shorter than snout (ED/SL 0.78); interorbital distance about as wide as upper eyelid (IO/EW 1.02) and smaller than internarial distance (IO/NN 0.73); pineal spot weakly discernible, anterior to level of anterior upper-eyelid edge; tympanum and its annulus visible, its posterodorsal edge in contact with supratympanic fold; tympanum separated from eye by one-third of its diameter (ET/TD 0.35); tympanum diameter smaller than eye diameter (TD/ED 0.59); upper jaw with dentition; odontoid processes in lower jaw low, inconspicuous; choanae small, subtriangular, located far anterolaterally at margins of roof of mouth, lateral third covered by palatal shelf of maxilla in ventral view; vomer processes bearing teeth, long, separated from choana and from each other by about half length of individual process (Fig. 4G); tongue short and broad, bilobed for about one-sixth of its length, free distally for about half its length; median lingual process absent. Dorsal surfaces of head, trunk and limbs and lateral surfaces of trunk rough; enlarged tubercles sparsely scattered on the upper eyelid and on the dorsum; low, horseshoe-shaped dermal ridge in middle of back just behind level of arms; seven longitudinal dermal ridges running more or less parallelly to each other along the back; dorsolateral ridge most prominent, from posterior end of upper eyelid to groin; postpalpebral ridge well developed, from upper eyelid to anterior level of pelvis; median ridge indistinct from level of posterior upper-eyelid edge to horseshoe-shaped ridge, continuing more conspicuous from horseshoe-shaped ridge to vent, interruptedly above pelvis; lumbar ridge well developed, running interrupted from horseshoe ridge to vent; supratympanic fold thick and conspicuous, extending from posterior end of orbit, strongly curved, initially directed posterodorsally then turning sharply to arm insertion (Fig. 5G); ventral side of head smooth; transverse chest fold between arm insertions weakly distinct; ventral side of trunk smooth, evenly scattered with enlarged tubercles; ventral side of limbs smooth; cloaca without dermal flap. Forelimbs moderately sturdy; hand relatively small (HND/SVL 0.23); tips of fingers rounded, slightly enlarged into disks; relative length of fingers: II = IV <I <III; subarticular tubercles rounded, well developed, numbering one on Fingers I and II, two on Fingers III and IV, proximal tubercles on Fingers III and IV larger and more prominent than distal ones; finger webbing absent; thenar tubercle oval, small, about two-fifth length of metacarpal of Finger I; inner and outer palmar tubercles fused proximally, forming roughly U-shaped, low tubercle on proximal third of Fingers II–IV. Hindlimbs sturdy, very long (LEG /SVL 1.76); heel reaching slightly beyond tip of snout when legs adpressed forwardly to body; tibiofibula long (TFL/SVL 0.56), slightly longer than thigh (TFL/THL 1.09); heels overlapping each other considerably when knees flexed and thighs held perpendicularly to median plane; foot shorter than tibiofibula (FOT/TFL 0.88); relative length of toes: I <II <V <III
Authors: Dehling, Maximilian, Neokleous, Dario N., Das, Indraneil, Grafe, Ulmar, Min, Pui Yong, Hertwig, Stefan T.
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6912033530
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