Discovery of a new species of Euphlyctis (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the western coastal plains of peninsular India.

The aquatic frog genus Euphlyctis is now considered under two separate genera- Euphlyctis Fitzinger and Phrynoderma Fitzinger, with four valid species in each genus, respectively. The current distribution range of the genus Phrynoderma is restricted to peninsular India and Bangladesh, with a probability of availability in Sri Lanka. The genus Euphlyctis has a wide range of distribution from the Arabian Peninsula and the South Asian countries, with a few historical descriptions treated as junior synonyms of the species Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis in India. A new species of skittering frog, Euphlyctis jaladhara sp. nov. is described here from the surroundings of the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary of Kerala, India, which has a predominant distribution in the western coastal plains of peninsular India and some parts of the Western Ghats. The new species has distinct morphological characters and a high genetic distance that distinguishes it from the sympatric species. Discussions are made concerning the validity of the species E. ghoshi and E. kalasgramensis.

Morphological groupings within Euphlyctis (Anura: Dicroglossidae) and description of a new species from the surroundings of Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Kerala, India.

The skittering frog genus Euphlyctis is known to have a distribution range from Arabian Peninsula to Bangladesh through India and Sri Lanka. Although species descriptions were initiated about two centuries ago in the genus with a small number of species described, taxonomic identities and genetic information for many species are still incomplete / inaccurate. Here, we report the systematic status of this group, discuss a series of taxonomic issues, and describe a new species. Based on morphological characters and colour patterns, and their reciprocal monophyly in the molecular tree, two morphological groups, 'cyanophlyctis group' and 'hexadactylus group' are established within the genus Euphlyctis. We discuss the genetic identity for E. cyanophlyctis, described 220 years ago from the Indian subcontinent, from the surroundings of its type locality. E. mudigere is proposed as a junior synonym of E. cyanophlyctis as it was described from populations here considered to originate from the general distribution area of the latter taxon, and without substantial genetic divergence from other populations here attributed to E. cyanophlyctis. The potential of resurrection of Euphlyctis seistanica due to distinct genetic population in Iran is discussed; this lineage appears to be genetically rather similar to E. kalasgramensis, and the species distinctness of these two lineages requires further study. The validity of E. kalasgramensis is also discussed in the context of the historically earlier nomina, Rana bengalensis and Rana leschenaultii due to distribution range overlaps. The prospects of establishing either Rana cyanophlictis variety fulvus or Rana cyanophlictis variety flavens from Sri Lanka are also mentioned. Based on a comparative account, we report the discovery of a new species of skittering frog Euphlyctis kerala sp. nov. which has a restricted distribution in the western coastal plains of India, south of the Palghat gap. [http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:02B1DE04-C40C-4AAD-AC87-EF97673A4BF5].

A new species of Asian gracile skink (Scincidae: Lygosominae: emSubdoluseps/em) from the rain-shadow belts of Nilgiri hills, Western Ghats, India.

We describe a new species of Asian gracile skink from the dry leeward slopes of the Nilgiri hills, Tamil Nadu state, India which forms a part of the eastern, rain shadow escarpment of the Western Ghats in peninsular India. The new species, Subdoluseps nilgiriensis sp. nov., is characterized by: slender, small-sized body (47-67 mm); sandy brown above, with each scale tipped with black; a thick black lateral band from snout to tail; a distinct white labial streak; dirty white venter, with throat having mild black striations; 28-29 midbody scale rows; 71-74 mid ventral scales; 66-69 paravertebral scales. The new species is described based on external morphological characters, genetic data and geographical isolation. Based on two mitochondrial DNA genes, we show that the new species shares a sister relationship with Subdoluseps pruthi (Sharma, 1977) which is found in parts of the Eastern Ghats in peninsular India. The discovery of this new population raises two novel scenarios. Firstly, it renders the genus Subdoluseps evolutionarily polyphyletic with respect to the Indian species included in this genus. Secondly, it falsifies the notion that S. pruthi group skinks are restricted to the Eastern Ghats. Our results further indicate that the dry zone of peninsular India has unrealized skink diversity that needs to be further explored.