Kaloula discordia Poyarkov, Gorin, Bragin & Nguyen 2024, sp. nov.

Kaloula discordia Poyarkov, Gorin, Bragin & Nguyen sp. nov. Figs 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 C, Tables 3, 4 Chresonymy. Kaloula baleata [partim] — Orlov et al. (2002: 99); Nguyen et al. (2005: 43); Orlov and Ananjeva (2007: 148); Nguyen et al. (2009: 94). Kaloula indochinensis [partim] — Chan et al. (2013: 334, 2014: 577); Chandramouli and Prasad (2018: 52); Poyarkov et al. (2021 b: 39); Vassilieva (2021: 72–73); Holden (2023: 149). Holotype. ZMMU A-8134 (field number NAP-14688), adult male, from a pond in Cat Tien National Park, along the road from park headquarters to the Bau Sau Lake, Dong Nai River valley, Dac Lua Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, collected by N. A. Poyarkov, A. M. Bragin, and V. A. Gorin on 15 June, 2024 (11.44121 ° N, 107.41312 ° E; elevation 137 m a. s. l.) (Figs 6, 7 C). Paratypes (n = 14). ZMMU A-8135 – A-8140 (field numbers NAP-14689–14694), six adult males with collection data same as the holotype; ZMMU A-8141 – A-8143 (field numbers NAP-14688–14694), three adult males with collection data same as the holotype; ZISP 15285 –15287 (field numbers NAP- 14687, NAP-14695–14696), three adult males with collection data same as the holotype; ZMMU A-4739 (field number NAP-01674), adult male from Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai River valley, Dac Lua Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, collected by N. A. Poyarkov on June 1, 2011 (11.44576 ° N, 107.38673 ° E; elevation 128 m a. s. l.); ZMMU A-4642 (field number NAP-00630), adult female from Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai River valley, Dac Lua Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, collected by N. A. Poyarkov and A. B. Vassilieva on June 2, 2009 (11.44576 ° N, 107.38673 ° E; elevation 128 m a. s. l.) (Fig. 8). Referred materials (n = 3). ZMMU -A-4602-1 – 3 (field numbers NAP- 02010, NAP- 02086, and NAP- 02122), adult female and two subadult females from Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai River valley, Dac Lua Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, collected by E. A. Galoyan on August 22, 2011, September 15, 2011, and November 11, 2011 (11.419503 ° N, 107.426442 ° E; elevation 117 m a. s. l.). Diagnosis. Kaloula discordia sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) medium body size (SVL 42.9–56.2 mm); (2) eyes comparatively small (eye length comprising 60 % – 75 % of snout length); (3) dorsally uniform dark olive-brown; (4) beige-gray ventrally with irregular white mottling on belly and limbs; (5) pale yellow or orange-brown 8 - shaped patch on either side of the neck posterior to eyes; (6) yellowish to orange axillary patch present; (7) grayish to beige-yellow inguinal patch present edged with black markings; (8) from gray to beige spot on tibiotarsal articulation present; (9) dark interorbital bar absent; (10) enlarged, widened finger disks (3 FDD 6.5 % – 7.5 % of SVL), ca. 1.27 times wider than toe disks; (11) finger subarticular tubercle formula: 1: 1: 2: 2; (12) toe subarticular tubercle formula: 1: 1: 2: 2: 2; (13) two metacarpal tubercles not in touch with each other; (14) two metatarsal tubercles, outer metatarsal tubercle rounded, smaller than elongated inner metatarsal tubercle. Description of the holotype (Fig. 6). Adult male in a good state of preservation, habitus robust, head wider than long (HW / HL 1.27), snout projecting beyond lower jaw, gently rounded in lateral view (Fig. 6 C); truncated in dorsal view; top of head flat; upper eyelid lacking supraciliary tubercles; eye length less than snout length (EL / SL 0.74) and less than interorbital distance (EL / IOD 0.76); pupils round; nostrils rounded, placed more towards the lateral sides of the snout, located closer to tip of snout than to eye, relatively close to each other (IND / IOD 0.60); supratympanic fold flat, glandular, rather thin; tympanum not visible (Fig. 6 C); dorsal surfaces of body and limbs with sparse tubercules, getting denser backwards; ventral surfaces of body and limbs with flat tubercules (Fig. 6 A, B). Cloacal opening unmodified, directed posteriorly. Forelimbs relatively long, more than a half of hind limb length (FLL / HLL 0.53); hand long, comprising more than a half of lower arm length (HAL / LAL 0.60) and almost half of forelimb length (HAL / FLL 0.49); fingers rather robust, notably flattened in cross section; relative finger lengths: I <II <IV <III; fingers free of webbing; terminal digits flattened forming wide transversely expanded disks (Fig. 6 E); finger subarticular tubercles distinct, large and round, finger subarticular tubercle formula 1: 1: 2: 2; inner metacarpal tubercle elongate; outer metacarpal tubercule triangular-shaped, dilated, bigger than inner metacarpal tubercle (OPTL / IPTL 1.18), two metacarpal tubercles not in touch with each other (Figs 6 E, 9 C); hindlimbs robust, relatively short, not much longer than body length (HLL / SVL 1.16); relative toe lengths: I <II <V <III <IV; tarsal fold on inner surface of tarsus absent; tips of all toes widened, forming rounded terminal disks; all toe disks having dorso-terminal groves; the disk on toe IV the largest (Figs 6 D, 9 C); toe webbing well developed between all toes, reaching disks at all toes except toe IV; webbing formula i 1-2 ii 1.5 - 2.5 iii 1.5 - 3 iv 3 - 1.5 v; toe subarticular tubercules distinct, rounded; toe subarticular formula 1: 1: 2: 2: 2; two metatarsal tubercles, inner metatarsal tubercle elongated, oval; outer metatarsal tubercle smaller, rounded (Figs 6 D, 9 C). Coloration. In life, the dorsal surfaces of the head and body olive-brown, dorsal surfaces of the limbs grayish-olive with grayish-white spots (Fig. 6 A); flanks of the body and lateral sides of the head grayish olive; orange-brown 8 - shaped patches on the neck posterior to eyes; bright-orange axillary patch continuing on elbows (Fig. 7 C); grayish-white inguinal patch; small grayish-beige spots near tibiotarsal articulation; ventral surfaces of head and body gray, darker on the throat near the jaw; belly and ventral surfaces of limbs pinkish with weak white mottling (Fig. 6 B). Iris golden with brown reticulations ventrally and dorsally from the pupil (Figs 6 C, 7 C). In preservation after one year of storage in ethanol, dorsal coloration faded to dark gray, light patches became less pronounced, and they faded to light gray or grayish-beige, though the pattern generally remained unchanged. Measurements of the holotype (in mm): SVL 51.5; HL 11.7; HW 14.8; SL 5.5; EL 4.1; N-EL 3.9; IND 3.2; IOD 5.3; UEW 3.0; FLL 31.9; LAL 26.4; HAL 15.7; HLL 60.0; TL 45.0; FL 30.2; IPTL 3.0; OPTL 3.5; 1 FL 8.1; 1 TOEL 7.9; OMTL 2.1; 3 FDD 3.6; 4 TDD 2.3. Variation. Table 4 presents the morphometric variation of the type series. Fig. 8 displays the variation in dorsal coloration of the paratypes. In general, all paratypes agree well with the description of the holotype, differing only in the brightness of light inguinal and axillary markings. In male paratypes ZISP 15285 and ZMMU A- 8138, the right foot is poorly developed; in male paratype ZMMU A- 8139, the right hand is poorly developed. Tadpole morphology. Vassilieva (2021) provided morphometric data and a detailed description of tadpoles of Kaloula discordia sp. nov. (as K. indochinensis). Vassilieva (2021) noted that tadpoles of ‘ K. indochinensis ’ from Cat Tien NP, Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam (corresponding to Kaloula discordia sp. nov.) differ from K. indochinensis sensu stricto from Kon Ka Kinh NP, Gia Lai Province, and Chu Mon Ray NP, Kon Tum Province, central Vietnam, by having comparatively longer spiracle tubes (markedly longer than the vent tubes), a narrower mouth relative to body width, more developed tail musculature (tail base width more than a third of the body width), and a rather contrasting tail coloration. Distribution and natural history. Kaloula discordia sp. nov. is currently reliably known from Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Tay Ninh, and Binh Phuoc provinces of Southern Vietnam and was also reported from the adjacent Mondulkiri Province of eastern Cambodia; the known distribution of the new species is shown in Fig. 5, and the locality information is detailed in Appendix 1. The single Cambodian record of the new species from Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri Province, originally reported as K. indochinensis by Chan et al. (2013) and Holden (2023), can be confidently assigned to Kaloula discordia sp. nov. based on the external morphology and coloration of the recorded specimen and the geographic proximity of the locality to the population of Kaloula discordia sp. nov. in Binh Phuoc Province of southern Vietnam. The new species was recorded mostly from relatively low elevations of ca. 70–300 m a. s. l.; in Bao Loc forestry of Lam Dong Province, the new species was recorded at elevations up to 550 m a. s. l. Kaloula discordia sp. nov. is restricted to lowland and hilly, seasonally dry, semi-deciduous, and evergreen monsoon forests of southern Vietnam (see Vassilieva et al. 2016). Male frogs were recorded calling from small temporary pools and flooded areas from May to November (Fig. 7 A, B); the peak of the breeding season coincides with heavy rains in June – August. The new species is semi-fossorial and quite elusive and is usually active only after periods of heavy rains; frogs are aestivating during dry periods in leaf litter, underground borrows, or tree hollows (Vassilieva et al. 2016; Holden 2023). Diet consists of ants and beetles (Vassilieva et al. 2016); the new species is a good climber; males can call when perching a few meters above ground level (Holden 2023). The actual distribution of K. discordia sp. nov. is still insufficiently known, but we suppose that this species is likely to occur in those provinces of southern Vietnam where forests similar in composition are still preserved, including Dak Nong, Binh Duong, Binh Thuan, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces. Syntopic species of amphibians included Microhyla but