Leptobrachium nigrops Berry & Hendrickson, 1963

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 : 39-40

Leptobrachium nigrops Berry & Hendrickson, 1963 — Native.

Leptobrachium nigrops Berry & Hendrickson, 1963: 644 . Holotype: FMNH 134719 , by original designation. Type locality: “ Singapore Catchment Area near Nee Soon Pumping Station, altitude 10–15 meters”, Singapore.

Black-eyed Litter Frog

( Figure 5E )

Singapore records.

Leptobrachium hasseltii (part)— Flower, 1896: 913.— Hanitsch, 1898: 8.—A.L. Butler, 1904: 397–398.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 19.

Megalophrys hasseltii (part)— Boulenger, 1912: 282–283.

Megalophrys hasselti [sic] (part)—van Kampen, 1923: 13–15.

Megophrys hasseltii hasseltii (part)— Bourret, 1942: 213.

Leptobrachium hasseltii hasseltii (non-Tschudi, 1838)—Taylor, 1962: 314.

Leptobrachium nigrops Berry & Hendrickson, 1963: 644 (Nee Soon Pumping Station [NSSF]).— Berry, 1964: 227–243 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).— Berry, 1965: 163–174 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).— Inger, 1966: 37, 39.—Inger & Bacon, 1968: 602.— Berry, 1975: 36 ( Singapore Catchment Area).— K. Lim, 1988b: 6 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K. Lim, 1988f: 77 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K. Lim, 1989h: 65 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest; Sime Road Forest).—K.K.P. Lim, 1989a: 56 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K. Lim, 1990b: 12 (Lower Peirce Reservoir [LP]; Nee Soon Swamp Forest).— K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 56.—K.K.P. Lim & C.M. Yang, 1991: 218 (Jungle Fall Valley [BTNR]; Mandai Road).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 21, 143.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 9 (Lower Peirce Reservoir [LP]).—P.K.L. Ng & K.K.P. Lim, 1992: 260 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—Wee, 1992: 73 (Lower Peirce Reservoir Park).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 93.—K.P. Lim, 1994: 14 (Lornie Track [LF]; MacRitchie Golf Course Trail [MNF]; MacRitchie North Forest [MNF]; Mandai Track [NSSF]; Thomson Ridge Trail [TRF]; Upper Peirce West Forest).—K.K.P. Lim, 1994a: 330.—K. Lim, 1995: 19 (Catchment Pond [BTNR]).—Inger, 1996: 553.— Glaw & Vences, 1997: 133.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 395.— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 73.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 15.—T.M. Leong & L.M. Chou, 1999: 87–88.— Matsui et al., 1999: 27.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2000: 12.—T.M. Leong, 2000: 3.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K., 2002: 143.— Das & Haas, 2005: 379.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 55, 158.—R.M. Brown et al., 2009: 15, 44.— Bickford et al., 2010: 121.—T.M. Leong, 2011: 20, 22.—T.M. Leong & Gan, 2011: 22.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 365.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 55, 158.— Gilbert et al., 2012: 393.— Hamidy et al., 2012: 22, 23, 25, 28, 36.—L.K. Wang et al., 2012: 120.—K.W. Chan, 2013a: 50, 51 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—E.K. Chua, 2015: 94.—M.A.H. Chua, 2015c: 55.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 52, 54 (Mandai Range Forest; Ulu Sembawang Forest); Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).— S. Subaraj, 2015: 3, 4, 5 (Mandai Range Forest; Stephen Lee Woods [= RPN]; Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).—I.S. Law & Serin, 2016: 194–197 (Upper Peirce).—S.M. Chong et al., 2018: 253.—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 146, 150, 174, 179 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).— Leo et al., 2020: 254.

Megophrys hasseltii —D.S. Johnson, 1964: 29.—D.S. Johnson, 1992: 41.

Remarks. Before Taylor (1962) reported on a specimen he collected (EHT-HMS No. M200), L. nigrops was only known from Singapore from the first specimen collected by Ridley at an unnamed location ( Flower 1896), and an unknown number of specimens deposited at the Raffles Museum ( Hanitsch 1898; Butler 1904). Thus, no new specimens of L. nigrops were reported from Singapore for over 66 years ( Table 2 ). The year after, Berry & Hendrickson (1963) redescribed L. nigrops as a new species, separating it from L. hasseltii . Berry & Hendrickson (1963) described L. nigrops based on specimens collected at NSSF, the type locality for L. nigrops ( Table 1 ), from 1958 and 1959. Yet, Hendrickson collected specimens as early as 1952 (FMNH 172743). Furthermore, ZRC.1.154 was collected on 10 April 1910 on Mandai Road. Berry (1975) described L. nigrops as “especially common in Singapore Catchment area”. Reported observations became more common after Lim (1988b) reported seeing one at NSSF.

Occurrence. Restricted to CNR and surrounding Nature Parks. Common.

Singapore conservation status. Near-Threatened.

Conservation priority. Moderate due to restricted range and narrow preference for swampy habitats.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2021].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC.1.1544 (10-Oct-1973) , ZRC.1.8046 (08-Jun-2001) , ZRC.1.10326 (31-Dec-2002) , ZRC.1.6199– ZRC.1.6209 (30-Dec-2000) , ZRC.1.1521 (03-Oct-1987) , ZRC.1.3406 (19-Sep-1996) ; Lorong Banir [SF] : ZRC.1.3405, ZRC.1.3408 (17-Sep-1996) ; Lower Peirce Reservoir : ZRC.1.11348 (24-Aug-2004) , ZRC.1.4548– ZRC.1.4549 (Aug-1990) , ZRC.1.2892 (13-Jul-1990) , ZRC.1.10523 (14-Mar-2003) , ZRC.1.3403 (13-Jul-1990) ; Mandai Orchid Garden [= MBP] : ZRC.1.12590 (02-Mar-2007) ; Mandai Road: ZRC.1.154 (10-Apr-1910) ; Nee Soon Swamp Forest : BMNH 1963.1 (no date) , BMNH 1974.3053 – 3055 (no date) [paratypes] , BMNH 1974.3065 (no date) , ZRC.1.1260– ZRC.1.1264 (09-Dec-1974) , ZRC.1.3404 (07-Sep-1991) , ZRC.1.4214 (no date), ZRC.1.1769– ZRC.1.1772 (28-Dec-1989) , ZRC.1.1784 (30-Mar-1990) , ZRC.1.2760 (30- Apr-1990) , ZRC.1.2913 (29-Sep-1990) , ZRC.1.3407 (Jul-1996) ; Sime Road Forest : ZRC.1.11363– ZRC.1.11369 (02-Sep-2004) , ZRC.1.11401 (17-Nov-2004) , ZRC.1.11402– ZRC.1.11405 (17-Nov-2004) , ZRC.1.1766 (24-Dec-1989) , ZRC.1.9177 (19-Jan-2002) , ZRC.1.10400– ZRC.1.10401 (15-Jan-2003) , ZRC.1.10530 (15-Mar-2003) , ZRC.1.6112– ZRC.1.6114 (12-Jan-2001) , ZRC.1.11103– ZRC.1.11106 (23- Oct-2003) ; Venus Drive [ WNP] : ZRC.1.3357 (18-Jul-1996) ; Upper Seletar Swamp Forest [= NSSF] : ZRC.1.6288– ZRC.1.6290 (30-Dec-2000) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): FMNH; Botanic Gardens: CAS; Mandai Road: BPBM; Nee Soon Swamp Forest: BPBM, KU, MNHN.

Singapore localities. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Chestnut Nature Park—Lornie Forest—Lower Peirce—Lower Peirce Reservoir Park—MacRitchie North Forest—Mandai Bird Park—Mandai Range Forest—Mandai Road—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Rainforest Park North—Sime Road Forest—Singapore Botanic Gardens*—Singapore Island Country Club—Springleaf Forest—Thomson Ridge Forest—Ulu Sembawang Forest—Upper Peirce—Upper Peirce West Forest—Upper Seletar North Forest—Windsor Nature Park.

Genus Pelobatrachus Beddard, 1908 “1907”(1 species)

Pelobatrachus Beddard, 1908 “1907”: 909 (type species: Ceratophryne nasuta Schlegel, 1858 , by monotypy; gender masculine).

Figures

FIGURE 5. A) Limnonectes paramacrodon, B) Limnonectes plicatellus, C) Occidozyga sumatrana, D) Eleutherodactylus planirostris, E) Leptobrachium nigrops, F) Megophrys nasuta, G) Kalophrynus limbooliati, and H) Kaloulapulchra. Photographs by: Alex Figueroa [A–H].