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Type: Article
Published: 2021-05-20
Page range: 383–390
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A new country record of Raorchestes cangyuanensis Wu, Suwannapoom, Xu, Murphy & Che 2019 and additional record of Kurixalus yangi Yu, Hui, Rao & Yang 2018 (Anura: Rhacophoridae: Rhacophorinae) from India

Systematics and Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004, Mizoram, India.
Department of Zoology, Pachhunga University College, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796001, Mizoram, India.
Systematics and Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004, Mizoram, India.
Amphibia Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot type locality Mizoram

Abstract

Most studies on the diversity of amphibians in northeast India were based on classical morpho-taxonomy, which have a high probability of errors in species identification. DNA barcoding of amphibians using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene has been used successfully for the identification of species and detection of cryptic species. In the present study, we carry out DNA barcoding of two rhacophorid species of the genus Raorchestes and Kurixalus that are not readily identifiable to the species level based on their morphology. Our analysis on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that these species were Raorchestes cangyuanensis and Kurixalus yangi, species which were recorded for the first time and second time from India respectively. We discuss on the records of R. longchuanensis from Bangladesh and India, which were based on the misidentification of R. cangyuanensis. We therefore propose to delist this species from the faunal list of Bangladesh and India. We further raise a question as to why the population of Kurixalus from Motuo, Xizang province of China was assigned as K. naso and not the population described as K. yangi, which is morphologically similar to K. naso and is also recorded from a locality close to the type locality of K. naso.

 

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