v15i1.402
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v15i1.402
Submitted date: 16 November 2025
Accepted date: 9 April 2026
Published date: 27 May 2026
Pp. 63–73.
A NEW TOAD SPECIES (AMPHIBIA: BUFONIDAE: Duttaphrynus) FROM THE KHASI HILLS, MEGHALAYA, NORTHEASTERN INDIA
Holiness Warjri, Madhurima Das, A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe & Jayaditya Purkayastha*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mail.jayaditya@gmail.com
Abstract
We describe a new bufonid toad from Mawphlang in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, northeastern India, based on an integrative taxonomic assessment combining external morphology and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses recover the Khasi Hills specimens as a distinct and well-supported monophyletic lineage within Duttaphrynus, forming a clade sister to an undescribed lineage from Chin State, Myanmar, and clearly separated from the most closely related congeners, D. stuarti and D. chandai. Uncorrected mitochondrial 16S sequence divergence between the new species and these taxa ranges from 4.4–6.7%, consistent with interspecific differentiation in Asian bufonids. Morphometric analyses based on allometrically size-corrected measurements further support its distinctiveness. The new species is characterized by a small adult body size (male SVL 40.0–41.8 mm), absence of cranial ridges, a distinct but small tympanum, moderate toe webbing, specific digital length proportions, and a dorsum bearing numerous pointed keratinized warts. The concordant molecular, multivariate morphometric, and qualitative morphological evidence demonstrates that the Khasi Hills population represents a previously unrecognized evolutionary lineage. The species is currently known only from its type locality in montane habitats of the East Khasi Hills, highlighting the continued importance of the Meghalaya Plateau as a center of amphibian diversity and endemism within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot.
Section Editor: Enrique La Marca
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v15i1.402
Submitted date: 16 November 2025
Accepted date: 9 April 2026
Published date: 27 May 2026
Pp. 63–73.
A NEW TOAD SPECIES (AMPHIBIA: BUFONIDAE: Duttaphrynus) FROM THE KHASI HILLS, MEGHALAYA, NORTHEASTERN INDIA
Holiness Warjri, Madhurima Das, A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe & Jayaditya Purkayastha*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mail.jayaditya@gmail.com
Abstract
We describe a new bufonid toad from Mawphlang in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, northeastern India, based on an integrative taxonomic assessment combining external morphology and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses recover the Khasi Hills specimens as a distinct and well-supported monophyletic lineage within Duttaphrynus, forming a clade sister to an undescribed lineage from Chin State, Myanmar, and clearly separated from the most closely related congeners, D. stuarti and D. chandai. Uncorrected mitochondrial 16S sequence divergence between the new species and these taxa ranges from 4.4–6.7%, consistent with interspecific differentiation in Asian bufonids. Morphometric analyses based on allometrically size-corrected measurements further support its distinctiveness. The new species is characterized by a small adult body size (male SVL 40.0–41.8 mm), absence of cranial ridges, a distinct but small tympanum, moderate toe webbing, specific digital length proportions, and a dorsum bearing numerous pointed keratinized warts. The concordant molecular, multivariate morphometric, and qualitative morphological evidence demonstrates that the Khasi Hills population represents a previously unrecognized evolutionary lineage. The species is currently known only from its type locality in montane habitats of the East Khasi Hills, highlighting the continued importance of the Meghalaya Plateau as a center of amphibian diversity and endemism within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot.
Section Editor: Enrique La Marca
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
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