New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam

The Black-spotted Paddy Frog (Micryletta nigromaculata) was recently discovered from northern Vietnam. Due to its restricted distribution in limestone karst forests and habitat degradation, the endemic species has been listed as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. However, knowledge about the natural history of this species is scarce, including data on its dietary ecology. Recent field surveys revealed new populations of M. nigromaculata occurring in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam based on morphological analysis. Using the stomach-flushing method, we analyzed stomach contents of 45 individuals (21 males and 24 females) from a total of 52 captured frogs because stomachs of six males and one female (13.5%) were empty. The food spectrum of M. nigromaculata comprises 12 types with a total of 691 prey items (687 invertebrate items and four unidentified items), belonging to six insect orders, larvae and Araneae. Similar to other species of the family Microhylidae, M. nigromaculata is also identified as an ant (Formicidae) – termite (Rhinotermitidae) eating specialist with distinctly higher percentages of occurrence frequency (F = 65 %), number of prey items (N = 80 %), and importance (Ix = 75 %) than those of remaining types. The Simpson diversity index of 0.939 shows a high abundance of food prey in the wild, and the Evenness index of 0.536 suggests biased consumption of feeding selection for M. nigromaculata

Fig. 3 in A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Fig. 3. Dorsolateral (A) and ventral (B) views of the male holotype (ZVNU.2022.01) of Amolops truongi, new species, in life. Photo A. V. Pham.Published as part of <i>Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas & Le, Minh Duc, 2023, A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam, pp. 51-69 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71</i> on page 56, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0004, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/7816079">http://zenodo.org/record/7816079</a&gt

Fig. 7. A in A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Fig. 7. A, Dorsolateral view of the adult male of Amolops compotrix, photo C. T. Pham from Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam; B, the adult male and female of Amolops cucae, photo, T. Q. Nguyen from Lao Cai Province, Vietnam.Published as part of Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas & Le, Minh Duc, 2023, A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam, pp. 51-69 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71 on page 58, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0004, http://zenodo.org/record/781607

Fig. 1 in A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Fig. 1. Distribution of the genus Amolops in Son La Province, Vietnam: 1, A. cf. compotrix in Co Ma Commune, Thuan Chau District; 2, A. vitreus in Province in Co Ma Commune, Thuan Chau District; 3, A. ottorum in Ngoc Chien Commune, Muong La District; 4, A. truongi, new species, in Phieng Ai Commune, Muong La District; 5, A. ricketti in Muong Bang Commune, Phu Yen District; and 6, A. cremnobatus in Tan Xuan Commune, Van Ho District.Published as part of <i>Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas & Le, Minh Duc, 2023, A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam, pp. 51-69 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71</i> on page 52, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0004, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/7816079">http://zenodo.org/record/7816079</a&gt

A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas, Le, Minh Duc (2023): A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71: 51-69, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-000

Fig. 6 in A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Fig. 6. Dorsolateral view of the female paratype (ZVNU.2022.06) of Amolops truongi, new species, in life. Photo A. V. Pham.Published as part of <i>Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas & Le, Minh Duc, 2023, A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam, pp. 51-69 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71</i> on page 58, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0004, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/7816079">http://zenodo.org/record/7816079</a&gt

Fig. 5 in A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam

Fig. 5. Amolops truongi, new species, male holotype (ZVNU.2022.01) in preservative. A, disc of first finger; B, underside palmar view of left hand; C, underside palmar view of right foot. Photo: A. V. Pham.Published as part of Pham, Anh Van, Pham, Cuong The, Ngo, Hanh Thi, Nenh, Sung Ba, Ziegler, Thomas & Le, Minh Duc, 2023, A new species of Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam, pp. 51-69 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71 on page 57, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0004, http://zenodo.org/record/781607