Amolops daorum is a species of frog in the family Ranidae.[3][4] It is known from its type locality in the vicinity of Sa Pa in northern Vietnam near the Chinese border, Hong Kong, and Houaphanh Province in eastern Laos; presumably it also occurs the intervening areas. The Hong Kong record is considered suspicious, however.[3]

Amolops daorum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Amolops
Species:
A. daorum
Binomial name
Amolops daorum
(Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov [fr], and Ho, 2003)
Synonyms[3]
  • Rana (Odorrana) daorum Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov, and Ho, 2003[2]
  • Odorrana daorum (Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov [fr], and Ho, 2003)
  • Huia daorum (Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov, and Ho, 2003)

Etymology edit

The specific name daorum refers to the Dao people of northern Vietnam.[2] Common name Dao frog has been coined for this species.[3]

Taxonomy edit

Amolops daorum was described in 2003 as Rana daorum based on specimens from northern Vietnam.[2] In 2007, Ohler concluded that it is a junior synonym of Amolops mengyangensis,[5] but this conclusion was challenged by Stuart, Biju, and others who considered it valid as Amolops daorum.[6][7] As of late 2018, the Amphibian Species of the World[3] and AmphibiaWeb[4] databases recognize Amolops daorum as a valid species. Meanwhile, placement of this species in the genus Odorrana appears to have been caused by a DNA sample allegedly representing this species actually coming from Odorrana hmongorum.[3]

Description edit

Adult males measure 32–38 mm (1.3–1.5 in) and adult females 53–58 mm (2.1–2.3 in) in snout–vent length. The body is dorsoventrally compressed. The tympanum is distinct and round. The finger and the toe tips bear discs. The toes are fully webbed. The dorsum is green and occasionally has black spots. The flanks are brown and bear at least one large white glandular spot. A white lip stripe runs from the nostril to above the arm insertion. The tympanum and the loreal region are dark brown. The venter is creamy white.[2]

Habitat and conservation edit

The type series of Amolops daorum was collected from and near streams: the males were on partially submerged rocks in cascades as well as in vegetation adjacent to the streams, whereas females were found slightly farther away from streams in denser vegetation. The elevation at the locality was 1,400 m (4,600 ft) above sea level.[2]

As of late 2022, Amolops daorum has been assessed as least concern an independent species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species but included in Amolops mengyangensis.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2022). "Amolops daorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T58585A48102482. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bain, R. H.; Lathrop, A.; Murphy, R. W.; Orlov, N. L. & Ho, T. C. (2003). "Cryptic species of a cascade frog from Southeast Asia: taxonomic revisions and descriptions of six new species". American Museum Novitates (3417): 1–60. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2003)417<0001:CSOACF>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/2846. S2CID 83664182.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Amolops daorum (Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov, and Ho, 2003)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Ranidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. ^ Ohler, A. (2007). "New synonyms in specific names of frogs (Raninae) from the border regions between China, Laos, and Vietnam". Alytes. 25 (1–2): 55–74.
  6. ^ Stuart, B.L.; Bain, R.H.; Phimmachak, S. & Spence, K. (2010). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Amolops monticola group (Amphibia: Ranidae), with description of a new species from northwestern Laos" (PDF). Herpetologica. 66 (1): 52–66. doi:10.1655/08-073.1. JSTOR 40602604. S2CID 85628491. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  7. ^ Biju, S. D.; Mahony, Stephen & Kamei, Rachunliu G. (2010). "Description of two new species of torrent frog, Amolops Cope (Anura: Ranidae) from a degrading forest in the northeast Indian state of Nagaland". Zootaxa. 2408 (1): 31–46. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2408.1.2.