New Megophrys frog detected in Nghe An

Scientists at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature and St. Petersburg Zoological Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered a new species of toad in the Megophrys family in Vietnam.

The new species of Megophrys - Megophrys latidactyla - found in Pu Mat National Park, western Nghe An province. (Credit: Dr. Nguyen Thien Tao)

According to Dr. Nguyen Thien Tao, a research team member, the new species, with the scientific name of Megophrys latidactyla, was collected at Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An province.

Megophrys latidactyla is small in size with a snout-vent length of only about 38.9mm. It has a flat head and big and bulging eyes with horns on its upper eyelids, as well as a smooth ventral surface and especially distinct edge on the rim of its fingers and toes.

The new species is the tenth known Megophrys discovered in the country, and also the second in central Vietnam so far.

Taxonomic notes on Vietnamese Megophrys with descriptions of the new species have been published in the Russian Journal of Herpetology, Volume 22, No. 3 2015.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)