Rediscovery of the High Altitude Lazy Toad, Scutiger occidentalis Dubois, 1978, in India

S. N. Litvinchuk, D. A. Melnikov, L. J. Borkin, S. Hofmann

Abstract


Scutiger occidentalis is considered extinct in India. This species has been last reported from India about 40 years ago. We describe a new, genetically confirmed record of S. occidentalis obtained in October 2017 from Himachal Pradesh (India), representing the so far southernmost locality for the species. Based on 16 previously known localities of the species, we predicted its potential distribution using a MaxEnt niche model. Of the parameters included in the model, mean diurnal range, land cover and temperature seasonality were the variables with the highest percent contribution for the species. The most suitable habitats for the species were located in Deosai Plateau in Pakistan, mountains around the Kashmir Valley, and along the Dras and Suru river valleys in Ladakh (India).

Keywords


Amphibia; Anura; Megophryidae; distribution; GIS modeling; mtDNA barcoding; Himalaya; Jammu and Kashmir; Himachal Pradesh; extinct species

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2019-26-1-17-22

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