Theloderma baibungense (Jiang et al., 2009)

Hakim, Jonathan, Trageser, Scott J., Ghose, Animesh, Rashid, Sheikh Muhammad Abdur & Rahman, Shahriar Caesar, 2020, Amphibians and reptiles from Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh, Check List 16 (5), pp. 1239-1268 : 1249

Theloderma baibungense (Jiang et al., 2009)

Figure 5D

Material examined. BANGLADESH • 1 adult; Sylhet Division, Moulvibazar District, Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, trail near Lawachara Station ; 24°19.79′N, 091°47.19′E; 18 Jun. 2014; 21:26; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 1.148 .

Identification. This treefrog is easily differentiated from other regional frogs by its characteristic brown, tan, and white mottled coloration, reminiscent of tree fungus or bird droppings ( Ahmed et al. 2009). With its webbed toes, reddish eyes, cream-colored body with distinct brown markings on the top of head and back, dark brown legs with black and cream banding, and dark marbling on venter, the frogs appear morphologically identical to T. pyaukkya Dever, 2017 in Myanmar, which is

now being subsumed under T. baibungense ( Dever 2017, Poyarkov et al. 2018; Nikolay Poyarkov pers. comm.).

Taxonomic notes. Though south Asian frogs of this species complex were previously identified as T. asperum (Boulenger, 1886) or T. albopunctatus (Liu and Hu, 1962) , genetic evidence has shown that Northeast Indian and central/northern Burmese members of the group are T. baibungense ( Hou et al. 2017; Poyarkov et al. 2018; Niko- lay Poyarkov pers. comm.). The first researcher to find Theloderma in Bangladesh was the late Tania Khan, who discovered it in LNP in 2012. Her find was 55 km west of the nearest previously reported locality in Dosdewa Khasi Village, Assam, India ( GBIF 2020, as T. asperum ).

Habitat. All four live specimens were perched on broadleaf plants 0.5–1.0 m above the ground in mature forest. This frog may be more common than these rare sightings indicate, but rarely encountered due to cryptic nature and arboreal microhabitat.