Fejervarya nepalensis (Dubois, 1975)

Kharkongor, Ilona Jacinta & Saikia, Bhaskar, 2017, First record of the Nepal cricket frog, Fejervarya nepalensis (Dubois, 1975) from Meghalaya, North East India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (3), pp. 286-286 : 286-

Fejervarya nepalensis (Dubois, 1975)

Materials examined: 3 ex. Regn. No. V /A/NERC- 1220, Meghalaya, East Khasi Hills, Sohra Khliehshnong, Umiong ῾Law Adong. 25 o 17’05.6”N; 91 o 41’43.6”E; alt. 1312 m ASL, 04.xi.2014, ZSI & Meghalaya Forest Department survey party ; 9 exs. Regn. No. V /A/NERC-1221, Meghalaya, East Khasi Hills, Lyniong village, Lyniong Sacred Grove , 25 o 25’91.4”N; 91 o 42’62.0”E; alt. 1674.56 m ASL, 20.x.2014, ZSI & Meghalaya Forest Department survey party .

Diagnostic characters: Small-sized frogs (SVL: 35.12-

38.73). The body is somewhat oblong oval, and the dorsum is covered with oblong tubercles forming four longitudinal folds and several other short tubercles on the body and tibia (Figure 1); a distinct but narrow mid-dorsal line always present, with or without red patches. Head is dorsally pointed and laterally rounded, with the snout jutting over the lower jaw; nostrils closer to the snout tip; tympanum small, round, inconspicuous and spotted; relative finger length 2<1<4<3, the 1 st finger scarcely longer than the 2 nd; subarticular tubercles globular; inner metatarsal tubercle oval and flat; outer metatarsal tubercle small and oval; tibio-tarsal articulation reaches between eye and nostril. Ventrum smooth (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Fejervarya nepalensis , Dorsal View.

Figure 2. Fejervarya nepalensis, Ventral View.

Distribution: India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim in North-East India, and Haryana and Uttarakhand in the rest of India. Elsewhere: Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Remarks: Recorded here for the first time from Meghalaya in North-East India. The specimens were collected from pristine environments of the Sacred Groves of the State located at high altitudes (1312 – 1675 m ASL) way above the elevation (below 500 ASL) they are generally known to occur ( Bordoloi & Shrestha, 2009).