Meristogenys

Meristogenys is a genus of true frogs from Borneo.[1] Its tadpoles are adapted to fast-flowing mountain streams and easily recognizable by their divided upper lip with ribs on the outside.[2][3]

Meristogenys
M. orphnocnemis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Meristogenys
Yang, 1991
Type species
Hylarana jerboa
Günther, 1872
Species

13 (see text)

Taxonomy and systematic

Its closest living relative is apparently the hole-in-the-head frog (Huia cavitympanum), type species of the highly polyphyletic "wastebin genus" Huia. Meristogenys, having been proposed far more recently than Huia, might be included in the latter on grounds of phylogeny, as most if not all species placed in the Huia seem to belong elsewhere. But a group of species traditionally placed in Huia as well as the genus Clinotarsus are very close relatives, and therefore a taxonomic revision of this group is probably better deferred until the relationships of all taxa involved have been properly assessed.[4] Meristogenys on its own is a monophyletic group.[1][3]

Ecology

Meristogenys are common frogs around the mountain streams of Borneo and among the commonest frogs in the mountainous regions of the island. Tadpoles are specialized for living in strong currents and have a heavy body. The snout is broadly rounded with a relatively oral disk underneath it. The body is flat below and has a large sucker, covering a larger portion of the abdomen.[3]

Description

The largest species is Meristogenys kinabaluensis; males reach 68 mm (2.7 in) and females 93 mm (3.7 in) in snout–vent length.[5] Adults of different species are usually morphologically similar and difficult identify to species, and even difficult to distinguish from other ranid frogs, notably Hylarana.[3] In contrast, and unusually, the tadpoles are easier to identify to species than the adults.[6]

Species

There are 13 species:[1][7]

Footnotes
  1. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Meristogenys Yang, 1991". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. Stuart (2008)
  3. Shimada, Tomohiko; Matsui, Masafumi; Yambun, Paul & Sudin, Ahmad (2011). "A taxonomic study of Whitehead's torrent frog, Meristogenys whiteheadi, with descriptions of two new species (Amphibia: Ranidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (1): 157–183. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00641.x.
  4. Cai et al. (2007), Stuart (2008)
  5. Matsui, Masafumi; Shimada, Tomohiko & Sudin, Ahmad (2010). "A new species of Meristogenys (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae) from Sabah, Borneo". Zoological Science. 27 (1): 61–66. doi:10.2108/zsj.27.61. PMID 20064010.
  6. Shimada, T.; Matsui, M.; Yambun, P. & Sudin, A. (2011). "A survey of morphological variation in adult Meristogenys amoropalamus (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae), with a description of a new cryptic species" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2905: 33–56. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2905.1.3.
  7. "Ranidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
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References
  • Cai, Hong-xia; Che, Jing, Pang, Jun-feng; Zhao, Er-mi & Zhang, Ya-ping (2007): Paraphyly of Chinese Amolops (Anura, Ranidae) and phylogenetic position of the rare Chinese frog, Amolops tormotus. Zootaxa 1531: 49–55. PDF abstract and first page text
  • Stuart, Bryan L. (2008): The phylogenetic problem of Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46(1): 49-60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.09.016 (HTMl abstract)
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