title: Seven new species of Night Frogs (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae) from the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot of India, with remarkably high diversity of diminutive forms.
abstract: The Night Frog genusNyctibatrachus(Family Nyctibatrachidae) represents an endemic anuran lineage of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India. Until now, it included 28 recognised species, of which more than half were described recently over the last five years. Our amphibian explorations have further revealed the presence of undescribed species of Nights Frogs in the southern Western Ghats. Based on integrated molecular, morphological and bioacoustic evidence, seven new species are formally described here asNyctibatrachus athirappillyensissp. nov.,Nyctibatrachus manalarisp. nov.,Nyctibatrachus pulivijayanisp. nov.,Nyctibatrachus radcliffeisp. nov.,Nyctibatrachus robinmooreisp. nov.,Nyctibatrachus sabarimalaisp. nov. andNyctibatrachus webillasp. nov., thereby bringing the total number of validNyctibatrachus species to 35 and increasing the former diversity estimates by a quarter. Detailed morphological descriptions, comparisons with other members of the genus, natural history notes, and genetic relationships inferred from phylogenetic analyses of a mitochondrial dataset are presented for all the new species. Additionally, characteristics of male advertisement calls are described for four new and three previously known species. Among the new species, six are currently known to be geographically restricted to low and mid elevation regions south of Palghat gap in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one is probably endemic to high-elevation mountain streams slightly northward of the gap in Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, four new species are also among the smallest known Indian frogs. Hence, our discovery of several new species, particularly of easily overlooked miniaturized forms, reiterates that the known amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats of India still remains underestimated.
authors.affiliation: Systematics Lab, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi , Delhi , India.
authors.forename: Sonali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Systematics Lab, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi , Delhi , India.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suyesh
authors.affiliation: Kerala Forest Department, Periyar Tiger Reserve , Kerala , India.
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sukesan
authors.affiliation: Systematics Lab, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi , Delhi , India.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Biju
keywords: Amphibians; Ancient lineage; Bioacoustics; DNA barcoding; Endemism; Integrative systematics; Miniature frogs; Nyctibatrachus; Species diversity; Western Ghats