Microhyla pulchra (Hallowell, 1861)

Microhyla pulchra (Hallowell, 1861) View in CoL

Materials

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: IB A. 6396 ; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 0C90C684-C3BA-545D-8BF4-28C63E1DB6E7; Taxon: scientificNameID: Microhyla pulchra ; scientificName: Microhyla pulchra ; class: Amphibia; order: Anura ; family: Microhylidae ; genus: Microhyla ; specificEpithet: pulchra ; scientificNameAuthorship: (Hallowell, 1861); Location: country: Vietnam; countryCode: VN; stateProvince: Ha Nam; county: Kim Bang; municipality: Kim Bang; locality: Kim Bang SHCA ; verbatimElevation: 38 m; verbatimLatitude: 20 ° 48.274 ' N; verbatimLongitude: 105 ° 84.089 ' E; verbatimCoordinateSystem: WGS 84; Event: eventDate: 22 April 2025; eventRemarks: collected by Nguyen QT, Pham TC, Phan QT, and Pham VA; Record Level: language: en; collectionCode: Amphibians; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: IB A. 6397 ; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 33396D65-5899-5BBF-A9BA-15BF82EFED83; Taxon: scientificNameID: Microhyla pulchra ; scientificName: Microhyla pulchra ; class: Amphibia; order: Anura ; family: Microhylidae ; genus: Microhyla ; specificEpithet: pulchra ; scientificNameAuthorship: (Hallowell, 1861); Location: country: Vietnam; countryCode: VN; stateProvince: Ha Nam; county: Kim Bang; municipality: Kim Bang; locality: Kim Bang SHCA ; verbatimElevation: 38 m; verbatimLatitude: 20 ° 48.274 ' N; verbatimLongitude: 105 ° 84.089 ' E; verbatimCoordinateSystem: WGS 84; Event: eventDate: 22 April 2025; eventRemarks: collected by Nguyen QT, Pham TC, Phan QT, and Pham VA; Record Level: language: en; collectionCode: Amphibians; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen

Description

Morphological characters of the specimens from Ha Nam Province agreed well with the descriptions of Bourret (1942), Taylor (1962) and Manthey and Grossmann (1997): SVL 29.2 mm in male (n = 1) and 37.1 mm in female (n = 1); snout obtusely point, slightly pronounced, longer than eye (RL 4.2 mm, ED 3.4 mm in male; RL 5.2 mm, ED 3.8 mm in female); interorbital distance 1.9–2.2 times broader than upper eyelid (UEW 1.6 mm, IOD 3.5 mm in male; UEW 2.4 mm, IOD 4.5 mm in female); tympanum invisible; vomerine teeth absent; tongue roundly spatulate and free at the rear half of its length; external vocal sac present in males. Fore-limb slender (HAL 11.8 mm in male and 13.2 mm in female); fingers free of webbing and tips not swollen. Hind-limb slender, tibia longer than thigh (TbL 18.5 mm, FL 15.6 mm in male; TbL 21.5 mm, FL 17.6 mm in female); toe tips round, not swollen, toes almost 1 / 2 webbed, webbing formula: I 1 / 2–2 II 1 – 3 III 2 – 3 ½ IV 31 / 3 – 2 V; subarticular tubercle present; inner and outer metatarsal tubercles present; tibio-tarsal articulation reaching tip of snout. Dorsal skin with a few scattered small tubercles; ventral skin smooth; cloacal region granular. Colouration in life: dorsum light brown, with a dark brown Λ-shaped pattern on the back, containing several dark and light lines, outer part bordered by several light lines; canthus rostralis and flanks dark brown; limbs with transverse bars; groin and anterior part of thigh yellow; ventral surface whitish yellow, chin and throat with black marbling (Figs 8 View Figure 8 , 9 View Figure 9 ).

Distribution

In Vietnam, this species is known from Lao Cai and Ha Giang Provinces in the north, southwards to Lam Dong and Dong Nai Provinces ( Nguyen et al. 2009, Hecht et al. 2013). Elsewhere, this species is known from China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore ( Frost 2025).

Ecology

Specimens of Microhyla pulchra were found on the ground near a small puddle or near a pond between 20: 00 h and 21: 30 h. Males were recorded calling at the site and tadpoles were detected in temporary water puddles. The surrounding habitat was a mixed secondary forest of small hardwood and shrubs.

Conservation

Conservation status. LC (Least Concern) ( IUCN 2025).