Chalcorana labialis ( Boulenger, 1887 )

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P., 2023, Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution, Zootaxa 5287 (1), pp. 1-378 : 50-52

Chalcorana labialis ( Boulenger, 1887) — Native.

Rana labialis Boulenger, 1887 c: 345 , 346, pl. 10, fig. 1. Lectotype: BMNH 1947.2.3.40, designated by Inger et al. (2009: 132). Type locality: “obtained within a radius of fifty miles from the town of Malacca ”, Peninsular Malaysia.

Copper-cheeked Frog

( Figure 6F ; Bukit Batok Nature Park)

Singapore records.

Rana labialis — Flower, 1896: 903–904 (Tanglin [= TF]; Botanic Gardens).— Flower, 1900: 896 (Botanic Gardens; Bukit Timah [BTNR]).— Hanitsch, 1899: 11 (Botanic Gardens; Impounding [MacRitchie] Reservoir [MR]).—A.L. Butler, 1903: 199.— Boulenger, 1912: 242–243.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 18.— van Kampen, 1923: 220–221.

Rana (Hylarana) chalconota (non-Schlegel, 1837)— Bourret, 1942: 368, 369.

Rana chalconota (non Schlegel, 1837)—D.S. Johnson, 1964: 28.—K.P., 1988a: 6 (Bukit Timah Hill [BTNR]; Nee Soon [NSSF]).—K. Lim, 1988c: 28 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—K. Lim, 1988f: 78 (Bukit Timah [BTNR]; Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K.K.P. Lim, 1989a: 56 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 56.—K.K.P. Lim & C.M. Yang, 1991: 223– 224 (Botanic Gardens; Hindhede Drive; Jungle Fall Valley [BTNR]; Pasir Laba Military Exercise Area).—D.S. Johnson, 1992: 40.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 30–31, 143.—Wee, 1992: 73 (Lower Peirce Reservoir [LP]).—E.K. Chua, 1993: 83.—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 93.—K.K.P. Lim 1994a: 330.—L.M. Chou, 1995: 146.—T.M. Leong & L.M. Chou, 1997: 99 (Central Catchment Area).—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 398.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 17.—T.M. Leong & L.M. Chou, 1999: 104–106.—T.M. Leong, 2000: 2.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 144.—Bickford et al., 2010: 122.—T.M. Leong, 2011: 22.

Rana raniceps (non Peters, 1871)— Das & Haas, 2005: 380.

Hydrophylax raniceps (non Peters, 1871)—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 63, 158 (Pulau Tekong).—E.K. Chua, 2015: 128.—H.C. Ho et al., 2015: 24 (Clementi Forest).—H.C. Ho et al., 2019: 125 (Clementi Forest).

Hylarana labialis —D.C.J. Yeo et al., 2010: 159.—L.L. Grismer, 2011a: 74.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 332.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 63, 159.—T.M. Leong, 2014: 8 (Bukit Kalang [SRF]).—R. Subaraj, 2015: 9, 52, 54 (Project Western Boundary [= MBP]; Ulu Sembawang Forest; Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).—S. Subaraj, 2015: 3, 5 (Project Western Boundary [= MBP]; Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).—S.M. Chong et al., 2018: 253, 254.—H.C. Ho et al., 2019: 67 (Clementi Forest).

Chalcorana labialis —K.K.P. Lim et al., 2016: 173 (Pulau Tekong).—Goldberg et al., 2017: 229.—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 146, 152, 174, 179 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Dairy Farm Nature Park; Rifle Range Pipeline).

Remarks. Chalcorana labialis has an intricate taxonomic history, being part of the Rana chalconota complex and part of Hylarana , both of which occupied large geographic areas prior to taxonomic reclassifications. Rana chalconota ranged from southern Thailand south to Sumatra, Borneo, and Java ( Inger et al. 2009), and Hylarana extended from Africa to Australia (Oliver et al. 2015). Ultimately, C. labialis was separated from R. chalconota ( Inger et al. 2009) and from Hylarana (Oliver et al. 2015) on the basis of molecular and morphological differences.

The existence of C. labialis in Singapore was first specified by Flower (1896) from specimens in NHMUK caught by Ridley in 1895, from two specimens that Flower himself collected in a pond at Tanglin on 2 April 1896, and from tadpoles found at SBG in the same month. Two years later in September 1898, Flower (1899 a) observed several individuals at SBG and BTNR. After Butler (1903) mentioned a specimen he received from Ridley, C. labialis was not reported from Singapore until 61 years later when Johnson (1964) said it was common along quick-moving streams of the catchment area, and then went unreported for another 24 years until Lim (1988b) reported it from BTNR and NSSF. However, there are museum specimens from the 1950s at BPBM and FMNH. Baker & Lim (2012) commented that two forms occur sympatrically in Singapore, a larger, darker morph vs. a smaller, paler morph, referring to differences in tadpoles examined in Leong & Chou (1999).

Occurrence. Wide-ranging. Common. Rare outside of CNR except for WC and PT.

Singapore conservation status. Least Concern.

Conservation priority. Lowest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2022].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1895.1 .8.12 (no date) , BMNH 1896.6.25.76–77 (no date), BMNH 1896.6.25.110–119 (no date), BMNH 1899.2.21.4–5 (no date), ZRC.1.496 (1800s); Botanic Gardens : ZRC.1.497 (18-Apr-1898) ; Bukit Kalang [ SRF] : ZRC.1.3394, ZRC.1.3396– ZRC.1.3397 (Aug-1996) ; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC.1.1546 (10-Oct-1973) , ZRC.1.1781 (Feb-1987) , ZRC.1.10324 (31-Dec-2002) , ZRC.1.6236– ZRC.1.6277 (30-Dec-2000) , ZRC.1.1515, ZRC.1.1519 (22-Nov-1986) , ZRC.1.3392 (Sep-1996) ; Hindhede Drive: ZRC.1.1528 (24- Apr-1988) , ZRC.1.1529 (02-May-1988) , ZRC.1.1560 (04-Sep-1988) , ZRC.1.1572 (03-Jan-1989) ; Lower Peirce Forest : ZRC.1.3391 (21-Jul-1990) , ZRC.1.3390 (31-Oct-1991) , ZRC.1.10278 (26-Dec-2002) , ZRC.1.10532 (14-Mar-2003) ; Lower Peirce Reservoir : ZRC.1.4748 (21-Jul-1990) , ZRC.1.3389 (31- Oct-1991) ; Mandai Road: ZRC.1.5432 (15-Apr-1993) ; Nee Soon Swamp Forest : ZRC.1.4550 (29-Sep-1990) , ZRC.1.4223:4224 (Apr-1994) , ZRC.1.3395, ZRC.1.3399, ZRC.1.3401– ZRC.1.3402 (08-Oct-1996) , ZRC.1.4217(16-Jan-1996) , ZRC.1.5780:5785(29-Nov-2000) , ZRC.1.10259– ZRC.1.10265(24-Dec-2002) ; Pasir Laba Military Exercise Area : ZRC.1.11343 (11-May-2004) ; Pulau Tekong: ZRC.1.9218 (31-Jan-2002) , ZRC.1.9219– ZRC.1.9225 (31-Jan-2002) , ZRC.1.9065– ZRC.1.9066 (28-Nov-2001) , ZRC.1.9246– ZRC.1.9248 (31-Jan-2002) ; Rifle Range Road : ZRC.1.3393 (24-Sep-1996) , ZRC.1.3398 (Aug-1996) ; Sime Road Forest : ZRC.1.3400 (Aug-1996) , ZRC.1.4419 (20-Apr-1994) , ZRC.1.5200 (22-Jul-2000) , ZRC.1.5201– ZRC.1.5203 (22-Jul-2000) , ZRC.1.10040 (15-Aug-2002) , ZRC.1.11107– ZRC.1.11108, ZRC.1.11109– ZRC.1.11122 (23-Oct-2003) , ZRC.1.11360– ZRC.1.11362 (02-Sep-2004) , ZRC.1.11353 (06-Sep-2004) , ZRC.1.11406– ZRC.1.11410 (17-Nov-2004) ; Upper Seletar Forest [ USRP] : ZRC.1.8127 (12-Jun-2001) , ZRC.1.8128a, b (12-Jun-2001) , ZRC.1.6279– ZRC.1.6287 (30-Dec-2000) ; Venus Drive Forest [ WNP] : ZRC.1.11335– ZRC.1.11336 (01-Apr-2004) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): CAS, FMNH; Bukit Timah: USNM; Nee Soon Rifle Range [= NSS]: BPBM; Nee Soon Swamp [= NSS]: ZMB.

Singapore localities. Bukit Batok Nature Park—Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Clementi Forest—Dairy Farm Nature Park—Hindhede Drive—Lower Peirce—Lower Peirce Forest—Lower Peirce Reservoir— MacRitchie Reservoir—Mandai Bird Park—Mandai Road—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Pasir Laba—Pasir Laba Military Exercise Area—Pulau Tekong—Rifle Range Nature Park—Rifle Range Road—Rifle Range Pipeline—Sime Road Forest—Singapore Botanic Gardens—Tyersall Forest—Ulu Sembawang Forest— Upper Seletar North Forest—Upper Seletar Reservoir Park—Windsor Nature Park.

Genus Hylarana Tschudi, 1838 (1 species)

Figures

FIGURE 6. A) Microhyla cf. butleri, B) Microhyla cf. heymonsi, C) Microhyla mantheyi, D) Microhyla cf. mukhlesuri, E) Micryletta subaraji, F) Chalcorana labialis, G) Hylarana erythraea, and H) Pulchrana baramica. Photographs by: Kelvin K.P. Lim [A–B, G], Alex Figueroa [C–D, F], and Law Ing Thong [E, H].