An international team of field biologists has described a new species of the frog genus Platymantis from Leyte and Samar islands, the Philippines. The team’s paper appears in the journal Zootaxa.
Platymantis navjoti male in life. Image credit: Cameron Siler, University of Oklahoma.
Platymantis is a large genus of frogs found from the Philippines to New Guinea.
These frogs belong to the family Ceratobatrachidae and are commonly known as wrinkled ground frogs, ground frogs or forest frogs.
The newfound Platymantis species, named Platymantis navjoti, lives in the montane forests of Leyte and Samar islands, the eastern Philippines.
Dr. Cameron Siler from the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Arvin Diesmos of De La Salle University and the National Museum of the Philippines and their colleagues found it at two localities on Nacolod mountain range in the southern region of Leyte Island and in mountains around Ormoc City at the northern part of the island.
Additionally, field surveys recorded this species on north-central Samar Island.
“Platymantis navjoti inhabits lower to upper-montane forest from 600 m to at least 1,000 m (1,969-3,281 feet) elevation,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
“At night, individuals were found perched on leaves of saplings, on fronds of rattan palms, on dead leaves that were entangled atop vegetation, or in spaces of curled leaves, from 0.5 m to 3 m (1.6-9.8 feet) above the forest floor.”
“Egg clutches were observed on top of leaves, with egg number per clutch ranging from eight to 12 and males observed guarding clutches.”
Platymantis navjoti measures between 2.1 and 2.9 cm (0.83-1.1 inches) in snout-vent length.
The frog is bright iridescent emerald green with irregularly shaped tiny white dots, evenly spaced across all dorsal surfaces of head, body and limbs.
“The new species is phenotypically and ecologically most similar to members of the subgenus Tirahanulap, an assemblage of small-bodied arboreal frogs inhabiting montane forests of the central and northern islands of the Philippine archipelago,” the scientists wrote.
“All known species of Tirahanulap are important indicator species for environmental and conservation assessments, making this new species not only an exceptional addition to Philippine biodiversity but also an important symbol for conservation initiatives in the region.”
The discovery of Platymantis navjoti increases the known diversity of Philippine Platymantis frogs to 32 species.
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Arvin C. Diesmos et al. 2020. A new forest frog of the genus Platymantis (Amphibia: Anura: Ceratobatrachidae: subgenus Tirahanulap) from Leyte and Samar islands, eastern Philippines. Zootaxa 4830 (3): 573-591; doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4830.3.6
