Xenophrys parva (Boulenger, 1893)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Megophryidae > Subfamily: Megophryinae > Genus: Xenophrys > Species: Xenophrys parva

Leptobrachium parvum Boulenger, 1893, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 2, 13: 344. Syntypes: (5 specimens) BMNH (these including 1947.2.25.9–12 [formerly 1893.10.9.42–45] by museum records), MSNG, and ZMB 11587 (a suspicious total of 6 syntypes where only 5 mentioned in the original publication); MSNG 29412 designated lectotype by Capocaccia, 1957, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 3, 69: 211. Type locality: "District of Karin Bia-po", Myanmar. See comments by Mahony, Kamei, Teeling, and Biju, 2020, J. Nat. Hist., London, 54: 119–194. 

Megalophrys parva — Boulenger, 1908, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1908: 419.

Megophrys parva — Bourret, 1942, Batr. Indochine: 203; Liu and Hu, 1960 "1959", Acta Zool. Sinica, 11: 514; Liu and Hu, 1961, Tailless Amph. China: 66.

Megophrys (Megophrys) parva — Dubois, 1980, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 49: 472.

Panophrys parva — Rao and Yang, 1997, Asiat. Herpetol. Res., 7: 98–99.

Megophrys (Xenophrys) parva — Dubois and Ohler, 1998, Dumerilia, 4: 14; Mahony, Foley, Biju, and Teeling, 2017, Mol. Biol. Evol., 34: 755. 

Xenophrys parva — Khonsue and Thirakhupt, 2001, Nat. Hist. J. Chulalongkorn Univ., 1: 75; Ohler, 2003, Alytes, 21: 23; by implication; Delorme, Dubois, Grosjean, and Ohler, 2006, Alytes, 24: 17;

Xenophrys (Xenophrys) parva — Fei and Ye, 2016, Amph. China, 1: 696; Chen, Zhou, Poyarkov, Stuart, Brown, Lathrop, Wang, Yuan, Jiang, Hou, Chen, Suwannapoom, Nguyen, Duong, Papenfuss, Murphy, Zhang, and Che, 2017, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 106: 41; Lyu, Qi, Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zeng, Wan, Yang, Mo, and Wang, 2023, Zool. Res., Kunming, 44: 400.

Boulenophrys parva — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 414.

Common Names

Burmese Spadefoot Toad (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 86; Schleich, Anders, and Kästle, 2002, in Schleich and Kästle (eds.), Amph. Rept. Nepal: 78).

Myanmar Pelobatid Toad (Das and Dutta, 1998, Hamadryad, 23: 63).

Concave-crowned Horned Toad (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 114; Mathew and Sen, 2010, Pict. Guide Amph. NE India: 57).

Tubercular Breasted Frog (Chanda, 2002, Handb. Indian Amph.: 11).

Brown Spine-eyed Frog (Nutphund, 2001, Amph. Thailand: 85).

Brown Horn Frog (Nutphund, 2001, Amph. Thailand: 85; Dinesh, Radhakrishnan, Gururaja, and Bhatta, 2009, Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Occas. Pap., 302: 43).

Lesser Stream Horned Frog (Chan-ard, 2003, Photograph. Guide Amph. Thailand: 86).

Small Spadefoot Toad (Nguyen, Ho, and Nguyen, 2005, Checklist Amph. Rept. Vietnam: 15).

Mountain Horned Frog (Ahmed, Das, and Dutta, 2009, Amph. Rept. NE India: 29).

Small Horned Toad (Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 36). 

Dwarf Eye-spined Toadfrog (Zug, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 653: 29). 

Little Karin Hills Toad (Lyu, Qi, Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zeng, Wan, Yang, Mo, and Wang, 2023, Zool. Res., Kunming, 44: 402). 

Distribution

Known with certainty only from the type locality, now in northwestern Thandaunggyi township, Hpa-An district, northern Kayin state, eastern Myanmar, as well as Doi Chiang Dao, Chiang Mai, Thailand, northeastern Laos, northwestern Vietnam (see comment), and borderlands of southern Yunnan, China; associated (and presumably unnamed) populations in India, Bangladesh, China, and Nepal require study. See comment. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: China, People's Republic of, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam

Comment

All literature of nominal Megophrys parva prior to the revision of Mahony, Kamei, Teeling, and Biju, 2020, J. Nat. Hist., London, 54: 119–194, should be employed with great caution; localities away of type locality in eastern Myanmar (such as included in the old range statement for nominal Megophrys parva: western to eastern Nepal and Bhutan at moderate elevations, Sikkim, and Assam and Manipur (India) through Bangladesh and Myanmar to western Thailand; isolated records in southeastern Xizang (southern Medog), southern Yunnan (Jinghong, Mengla, and Mengyang), and southwestern Guangxi, China; northern Vietnam (Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Thanh Hoa, and Son La provinces) and northern Laos) can safely be assumed to apply to other named and unnamed species. Nevertheless, the now-orphaned literature of nominal Megophrys "parva" prior to this revision are included below, although each reference can be safely assumed to apply to one or more species that are not Megophrys parva.  In the Xenophrys lekaguli group of Lyu, Zeng, Wang, Liu, Huang, Li, and Wang, 2021, Zootaxa, 4927: 9–40. Lalronunga, Malsawmdawngliana, Sailo, Vanlalvuana, and Lalhmingliani, 2021, Reptiles & Amphibians, 28: 283, excluded Xenophrys parva from the Indian fauna, showing that the previous record from Mizoram, India, actually refers to Xenophrys serchhipii (see also Mahony, Kamei, Teeling, and Biju, 2020, J. Nat. Hist., London, 54: 119–194). Lyu, Qi, Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zeng, Wan, Yang, Mo, and Wang, 2023, Zool. Res., Kunming, 44: 402, provided a detailed account (as Xenophrys parva) placing it in their Xenophrys lekagulii group. Lyu, Qi, Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zeng, Wan, Yang, Mo, and Wang, 2023, Zool. Res., Kunming, 44: 402–404, provided an account and specifically included genetically confirmed records for Chiang Mai, Thailand, Laos, and northwestern Vietnam within the range statement. They also transferred the species back to Xenophrys from Boulenophrys and placed it in the Xenophrys lekaguli group. Stuart, Seateun, Sivongxay, and Phimmachak, 2025 "2024", in Wildlife Lao PDR: 35, summarized literature, taxonomy, habitat, and detailed range for Laos, and who noted that this species has not been morphologically compared with Xenophrys major leaving the diagnoses of both uncertain. Xenophrys cf. parva reported from Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, by Dau, Pham, Nguyen, Toan, Tran, and Pham, 2024, Biodiversity Data J., 12(e122598): 1–19, and  Pham, Nguyen, Nguyen, Le, Ziegler, and Tran, 2024, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 18: 20–47, discussed natural history and records of Boulenophrys cf. parva from Copia Nature Reserve, Son La Province, Vietnam.  

See accounts of nominal Megophrys parva by Liu and Hu, 1961, Tailless Amph. China: 66–67; Taylor, 1962, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 43: 299–302; Yang, 1991, Amph. Fauna of Yunnan: 60–62; Dutta, 1997, Amph. India Sri Lanka: 38; and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 114–115. See Dubois, 1982, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Sect. A, Zool., 4: 266, for nomenclature discussion. Choudhury, Hussain, Buruah, Saikia, and Sengupta, 2002, Hamadryad, 26: 277, reported the species from Assam and Meghalaya, India. Chanda, 2002, Handb. Indian Amph.: 11, provided a brief account for the Indian population. Zhang and Wen, 2000, Amph. Guangxi: 47, provided an account for Guangxi. Orlov, Murphy, Ananjeva, Ryabov, and Ho, 2002, Russ. J. Herpetol., 9: 84, provided the Vietnam component of the range statement. See brief account by Shrestha, 2001, Herpetol. Nepal: 76. Nutphund, 2001, Amph. Thailand: 85, provided a brief characterization of this species, but Ohler, 2003, Alytes, 21: 101, suggested that the animal photographed could not be allocated to this species. Bain and Nguyen, 2004, Am. Mus. Novit., 3453: 11, provided the record for Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. Chan-ard, 2003, Photograph. Guide Amph. Thailand: 84–85, provided a very brief account, map for Thailand, and photograph. Nguyen, Ho, and Nguyen, 2005, Checklist Amph. Rept. Vietnam: 15, provided specific localities for Vietnam. In the Megophrys parva group of Fei, Ye, Huang, Jiang, and Xie, 2005, in Fei et al. (eds.), Illust. Key Chinese Amph.: 82. Stuart, 2005, Herpetol. Rev., 36: 474–475, provided records for Phongsaly and Huaphahn provinces, Laos. Devi and Shamungou, 2006, J. Exp. Zool. India, 9: 317–324, and Ningombam and Bordoloi, 2007, Zoos' Print J., 22: 2688–2690, provided a record for Manipur, northeastern India. Das and Dutta, 2007, Hamadryad, 31: 154–181, noted several larval descriptions in the literature. Yang, 2008, in Yang and Rao (ed.), Amph. Rept. Yunnan: 33, provided a brief account (as Megophrys parva) for Yunnan, China. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 464–468, provided an account for China and spot map. Mahony, 2008, Hamadryad, 32: 34–45, suggested that nominal Megophrys parva is a species complex with the name bearing lineage not occurring in India. Ahmed, Das, and Dutta, 2009, Amph. Rept. NE India: 29, provided a brief account for northeastern India. Mathew and Sen, 2010, Pict. Guide Amph. NE India: 57–58, provided a brief characterization and photographs. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 205, provided a brief account including photographs. See Shah and Tiwari, 2004, Herpetofauna Nepal: 41, for brief account for Nepal. Chan-ard, Cota, and Makchai, 2011, Amph. E. Region Thailand: 127, detailed the range in Thailand. Ghose and Ray, 2012, Herpetol. Rev., 43: 302, provided a record for northeastern Bangladesh and commented on the range. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 233, provided an account, photographs, and a range map for China. Mahony, Teeling, and Biju, 2013, Zootaxa, 3722: 157, commented on confusion in the literature of this species in India with Megophrys oropedion. Fei and Ye, 2016, Amph. China, 1: 696–698, provided an account, photographs, and dot map, as Xenophrys caudoprocta. Kharkongor, Saikia, and Deb, 2018, Rec. Zool. Surv. India, 118: 46, briefly summarized the range in India. Luong, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, and Nguyen, 2019, Herpetol. Notes, 12: 375–387, provided records from Dien Bien Province, Vietnam, and discussed the range and natural history. Chettri, 2017, Das (ed.), Diversity Ecol. Amph. India: 89–104, discussed the species in Sikkim, India. Pham, Pham, Doan, Ziegler, and Nguyen, 2019, Biodiversity Data J., 7 (e39140): 1–18, reported the species from Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam. Niyomwan, Srisom, and Pawangkhanant, 2019, Field Guide Amph. Thailand: 160–161, provided a brief account (photographs, habitat, and range) for Thailand (in Thai). Purkayastha, Khan, and Roychoudhury, 2020, in Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering: 225–233, provided a record for Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura, India. Gautam, Chalise, Thapa, and Bhattarai, 2020, IRCF Rept. & Amph., 27: 18–28, briefly discussed abundance and elevational range in the Ghandruk region of central Nepal. This nominal species reported from from Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam, by Dau, Thieu , Le, Phung, and Ong, 2020, Vinh Univ. Sci. J., Vinh, 49 (1A): 71–77, who also reported on natural history and morphology. Ahmad and Mim, 2020, IRCF Rept. & Amph., 27: 36–41, reported specimens from the Bandarban District, southeastern Bangladesh.  Makchai, Chuaynkern, Safoowong, Chuachat, and Cota, 2020, Amph. N. Thailand: 105, provided a brief account, photographs, and a range map for Thailand. Zug, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 653: 29, briefly discussed identification, habitat, and range in Myanmar. 

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