Minervarya pierrei (Dubois, 1975)

S6. Minervarya pierrei (Dubois, 1975) View in CoL ( fig. 14‒15 View Figure 14 View Figure 15 )

Larval series examined. WT 038‒039.81209 ( North   GoogleMaps Orissa University ( NOU), Baripda, Odisha, India; 21.929389 N, 86.765389 E). Tadpoles of this species were collected in a pond with standing water of about two feet. The pond was without canopy cover and with muddy substratum.

Notes. A partial sequence of 16S rRNA (OQ079490) generated from the tadpole voucher WT 038 matches published sequences from taxonomically identified frogs of Minervarya pierrei ( KP 849816 View Materials ). No descriptions of larvae of this species are available.

External morphology. Description of a tadpole at Gosner stage 38. Body elliptical and globular in dorsal and lateral perspectives ( fig. 14a‒b View Figure 14 ). Body length 35.6 % of total length; maximum body diameter at the centre of abdomen. Snout rounded in both dorsal and lateral perspectives. Eyes large, located and oriented dorsolaterally; distance between eye and nostril 50 % of distance between eye and snout. Nostril opening spherical with rim elevated, closer to eye than to snout, placed wide apart and parallel to eye in dorsal view; inter-narial distance 47.8 % of inter-orbital distance, distance between nostril and snout 13.7 % of body length. Spiracle sinistral and short; inner wall of tube completely formed but attached to body wall with aperture free; tube orientation posterolateral, its opening located below the medial and above the lateral side of venter. Distance between spiracle and snout 68.9 % of body length. Opening of vent tube dextral with right wall attached posterior to left wall. Tail tip pointed; musculature linear on first third length of tail, tapering beyond. Dorsal fin originating at junction between body tail; ventral fin originating at ventral terminus; maximum height of caudal fin at mid-length; dorsal fin wider than ventral fin. Height of tail muscle 94.7 % width of tail muscle at body-tail junction. Tail (caudal) musculature accounting for 47.3 % of height of tail. Lateral line not visible. Glands absent on outer integument.

Oral disc nearly ventral in location ( fig. 14c View Figure 14 ). Rostral width of oral disc 27.3 % of maximum body width, emarginated; not visible dorsally; single row of marginal papillae spread on lateral commissures of oral disc; wide gaps on both labia; two to three submarginal papillae seen at lateral commissures; both labia of equal size. Labial tooth row formula A2(2)/P3(1); gaps on labia in A1 and P3 labial tooth rows. Order of lengths of labial tooth rows A1> P1> P2> P3> A2. Jaw sheaths well developed, both jaw sheaths delicately keratinized. Jaw sheath margins uniformly serrated with small fine serrations; supra-rostrodont wide and convex with trapezoidal outline; infra-rostrodont U-shaped, convex laterally and concave medially.

Measurements of 15 tadpoles of various Gosner stages (35‒43) are given in tab. 6 View Table 6 .

Coloration. In life, dorsal body dirty yellow with many medium-sized blotches spread uniformly. Abdomen silvery white with no melanophores and opaque. Caudal fin musculature with yellow background and mottled with melanophores; dorsal and ventral tail fins white and translucent with many blotches mostly at posterior end. Oral disc and vent tube translucent; spiracle dotted with few melanophores.

Buccopharyngeal morphology. Buccal roof ( fig. 15a‒b View Figure 15 ). Prenarial arena of roof with nine pustules arranged in an arch; pustule present medially largest, and those at lateral corners smaller. Internal nares transverse, directed medially; gap between nares narrow, about half the length of each nare; anterior narial wall with few pustules and a short, pustulated papilla originating at lateral corner of the wall; posterior wall tall, smooth and valvular. Postnarial arena with a pair of tall-pustulated papillae present immediately behind posterior narial wall oriented medially; largest papillae on the roof; few pustules present in front of median ridge papilla. Median ridge papilla triangular with a pustulated margin. Two lateral ridge papillae, a short pustulated anterior papilla followed by a long and bifid pustulated papillae on each side, perpendicular to median ridge papilla; both projections of posterior papilla unequal. BRA well defined with four pairs of long conical pustulated papillae on lateral border of roof; about 50 tiny pustules spread across entire BRA. Glandular zone broad and prominent. Dorsal velum raised and discontinuous with a pustulated margin.

Buccal floor ( fig. 15c‒d View Figure 15 ). Prelingual arena with two pairs of palps located at posterolateral corners of jaw sheath; first pair of short pustulated papillae situated slightly anterior to posterolateral margin of jaw sheath; second laterally dilated pustulated palps at posterolateral corners of jaw sheath; a pair of papillae located posteromedially between the two posterior palps on jaw sheath. Tongue anlage broad and raised; two pustulated lingual papillae present medially. BFA defined by four pairs of BFA papillae beginning anteromedially to buccal pocket,continuing parallel to mesad plane but do not converging posteriorly; all papillae conical, tall and pustulated; first papilla tallest; BFA with14 to 16 pustules; space between tongue anlage and buccal pockets with 18 to 20 pustules on each side. Buccal pockets wide and transverse, oriented at 45 degrees to mesad; pre-pocket papillae absent. Region behind BFA and margin of ventral velum smooth and granular. Ventral velum wide and sinuate. Ventral velum margin with 14 projections on each side; Outer three projections on each side longer and widely spaced, and the remaining smaller and concentrated around the centre. Median notch not prominent; outer margin smooth with no spicules. Glottis exposed slightly posterior to ventral velum.

Observation on denticles could not be made.

Each serration ( fig. 15e‒f View Figure 15 ) on jaw sheath with a wide base and a pointed head.