{"id":5003,"date":"2020-09-04T11:45:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T10:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asianturtleprogram.org\/?p=5003"},"modified":"2021-03-09T03:42:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T03:42:06","slug":"2020-09-new_tadpoles_of_horned_frogs_described","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indomyanmarconservation.org\/my\/2020-09-new_tadpoles_of_horned_frogs_described\/","title":{"rendered":"Tadpoles of genus Megophrys described in Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”\u2018The Catfish and The Frog\u2019? – Tadpoles of six Megophrys frog species identified and described for the first time in Vietnam” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C500%2C500italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”]

<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]In Vietnamese folklore, \u2018The Catfish and The Frog\u2019 (Truy\u1ec7n Tr\u00ea C\u00f3c) is a famous tale, exploring the mystery of parenthood and morphology.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In the story, a childless catfish couple steal the tadpoles of two frogs and claim they are their children. The frogs appeal to the mandarin who orders that the catfish husband be imprisoned, but the catfish wife bribes the mandarin’s assistant to have the case re-examined. After inspection of the pond by the mandarin’s inspectors, they declare that the tadpoles are the true offspring of the catfish [as\u00a0the tadpoles look like catfish, not frogs].[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″]

\"\"<\/div><\/div>
The interesting, specialised mouth parts of the tadpoles of the Giant Horned Frog (Megophrys gigantica<\/em>). Photo credit: Benjamin Tapley – ZSL<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]In the modern day, tadpoles are unlikely to be mistaken as catfish offspring, but how do we identify the adult form of tadpoles based on its appearance alone? While our knowledge of frogs has grown substantially (over 7,200 species have been described so far), little is known about the tadpole stage of many species. However, field research being done in Vietnam is hoping to change that.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In two recently published papers in Zootaxa, tadpoles of 6 species of Asian Horned Frogs (genus Megophrys<\/em>) have been found and described in Vietnam for the first time, thanks to amphibian surveys jointly conducted by the Asian Turtle Program of Indo-Myanmar Conservation, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Australian Museum and Hoang Lien National Park, Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Asian Horned Frogs are well-known for the elongated upper “eyebrows” and so far, 107 species have been reported in the forests in southeast Asia, China and northeast India. In Vietnam, a country located in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, 21 species have been reported, including the Giant Horned Frog.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my time searching for frogs along streams at high elevation in Vietnam\u2019s montane evergreen forests, I have often been impressed by the unusual behaviours of some tadpoles feeding at the water surface. This has driven me to find answers for questions: “Which species are they?” and “How and why do they choose to feed in such a way?”\u201d says co-author Luan Nguyen, scientific officer of the ATP\/IMC.<\/p>\n

After observing the tadpoles, the researchers took photographs, morphological measurements and DNA samples, which helped to identify the tadpoles as the larval stage of six Megophrys<\/em> frog species. They include:<\/p>\n