Estimating the global trade in Southeast Asian newts
The global trade inamphibians iswidespread, involves hundreds of species, andhas been implicated in amphibian population declines. Thepet trade is the primary driver for populationdeclines inone Southeast Asian newt species (Laotriton laoensis), and is aknown threat to most of the 13 other known species from the region. Despite this, there has been little attempt to assess […]
A new small-sized Theloderma (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Laos.
A new species of the rhacophorid frog genus Theloderma is described from the forested shoreline of the Nam Lik Reservoir, Vientiane Province, Laos. The new species differs from its congeners by having the combination of males with SVL 17.0-20.6; pearly asperities on dorsum; no vomerine teeth; disc diameter of finger III ca. 40% of tympanum […]
A new Philautus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from northern Laos allied to P. abditusInger, Orlov & Darevsky, 1999
The small rhacophorid frog Philautus abditus is geographically restricted to central Vietnam and adjacent Cambodia. Our fieldwork in northern Laos resulted in the discovery of a Philautus species that very closely resembles P. abditus, but is at least 330 km from the nearest known locality of that species. The Laos population differs from P. abditus […]
A New Species in the Tylototriton asperrimus Group (Caudata: Salamandridae) from Central Laos
A new species in the morphologically conservative Tylototriton asperrimus group is described from Khammouan Province, Laos. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA confirms its placement in the T. asperrimus group. Tylototriton notialis sp. nov. is diagnosable in mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA, and morphology from its congeners. The new species represents the first record of the […]
A new Philautus (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae) from northern Laos
A new Philautus is described from Phou Dendin National Biodiversity Conservation Area in northern Laos. Philautus petilus sp. nov. is most remarkable by having a very slender, elongate habitus. Other distinguishing characteristics include having a tympanum diameter 80% of the eye diameter, white asperities on the dorsum, and distinctive coloration consisting of a soft yellow-beige […]
Ecology and Natural History of the Knobby Newt Tylototriton podichthys (Caudata: Salamandridae) in Laos
Almost nothing is known on the ecology and natural history of Tylototriton (Knobby Newts) in Laos. Here, a population of the newly described T. podichthys was intensively studied in a 55,800 m2 area in Xiengkhouang Province, Laos, from June 2012–July 2013. Mark-recapture methods estimated 301 individuals of T. podichthys at the study site. Newts were […]
A new Limnonectes (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from southern Laos
A new species of “fanged frog” in the genus Limnonectes resembling L. kohchangae (Smith, 1922) from southeastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia is described from upper elevations of the Bolaven Plateau, southern Laos. However, the new species, L. coffeatus sp. nov., is not resolved to be the closest relative of L. kohchangae, and is further distinguished […]
Predicting Environmental Suitability for a Rare and Threatened Species (Lao Newt, Laotriton laoensis) Using Validated Species Distribution Models
The Lao newt (Laotriton laoensis) is a recently described species currently known only from northern Laos. Little is known about the species, but it is threatened as a result of overharvesting. We integrated field survey results with climate and altitude data to predict the geographic distribution of this species using the niche modeling program MAXENT, […]
A taxonomic revision of the genus Phrynoglossus in Indochina with the description of a new species and comments on the classification within Occidozyginae (Amphibia, Anura, Dicroglossidae)
We revise the frogs of the genus Phrynoglossus from Indochina based on data of external morphology, bioacoustics and molecular genetics. The results of this integrative study provide evidence for the recognition of three distinct species, one of which we describe as new. Phrynoglossus martensii has a vast geographic distribution from central and southern Thailand across […]
Morphological and Molecular Variation in Tylototriton (Caudata: Salamandridae) in Laos, with Description of A New Species
The salamandrid genus Tylototriton is poorly known in Laos, with one described species and unverified reports of two others. We undertook new fieldwork and obtained samples of Tylototriton at six localities across northern Laos during 2009–2013. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA, principal component analyses of 13 mensural characters, and qualitative morphological comparisons with samples […]
