The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 3(1): 17-21, April 2003

©2003 by Chulalongkorn University

Additional Anuran and Saurian Records for Phuket,

South Thailand

TZI MING LEONG 1*, TANYA CHAN-ARD 2 and YODCHAIY CHUAYNKERN 2

1
Systematics and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences,
National University of Singapore, 119260, SINGAPORE
2
Herpetology Section, Reference Collection Division, National Science Museum,
Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, THAILAND

Abstract.–A total of nine new herpetofaunal records are reported for Phuket
island, including five anurans (Ansonia malayana, Microhyla heymonsi,
Megophrys parva, Limnonectes macrognathus, Taylorana hascheana) and four
saurians (Acanthosaura armata, Draco taeniopterus, Cyrtodactylus oldhami,
Mabuya macularia), all supported with voucher specimens. This brings the
total number of amphibian and lizard species for the island to 26 and 27
respectively.

Key words: Phuket; island; herpetofauna; anura; sauria

Khao Lak (Grossmann and Tillack, 2000,

INTRODUCTION 2001a, 2001b; Pauwels and Bauer, 2001;
Pauwels et al., 1999, 2002).
The best known example of concerted Thus far, no endemic species are known
efforts at surveying the herpetofauna of the from the island, suggesting a long history of
island of Phuket (GPS 8°00’ N, 98°20’ E; connectedness with the peninsula and a very
south of Phang Nga province, peninsular recent (geological time) isolation from this
Thailand) was by Dawn W. Frith and Clifford mainland. From the maps prepared by Voris
B. Frith, both of whom reported on the (2000), it seems apparent that at sea-levels of
amphibian and snake faunas respectively in the 30 m below present day levels (BPL), Phuket
same volume of the Natural History Bulletin of appears to be distinct from the mainland (Voris,
the Siam Society in 1977, after staying on the 2000: fig. 1f). However, in actual fact, this is
island from 1974-1976. Subsequently, height- not the case and at 20 m BPL, the Phang Nga
ened research efforts on the island and the Bay we know today would be mostly land, with
adjacent mainland have produced a more Phuket still connected to the mainland in the
complete picture of the herpetofaunal com- north and on the east. Hence, it would only be
position of Phuket island, including the lizards safe to say that at 10 m BPL, there was certain
and terrapins. In recent years, there have been separation between the two. Phuket has only
comprehensive compilations of and additions to been an island for the past five or six thousand
the herpetofauna of Phuket, Phang Nga, and years (Harold K. Voris, pers. comm.). Even
then, the likelihood of faunal exchanges across
* Corresponding author. the narrow channel would be very high still
Tel: 65-6874-4193 (Olivier S. G. Pauwels, pers. comm.). In spite
E-mail: [email protected] of the current state of severely reduced original
18 NAT. HIST. J. CHULALONGKORN UNIV. 3(1), APRIL 2003

forest cover, the herpetofaunal records have in Material examined: sub-adult (ZRC.1.8483;
fact been on the rise, a clear result of increased SVL 14.9 mm; Kathu waterfalls); males
research efforts. Prior to this report, 21 (ZRC.1.8454, 8479; SVL 24.1, 23.9 mm;
amphibians and 23 lizards were known for Kathu waterfalls); females (ZRC.1.8455-8458,
Phuket. In this paper, we report five anurans 8480-8481, 8581; SVL 26.6-29.3 mm; Kathu
(Class Amphibia, Order Anura) and four lizards and Manik waterfalls). Topotypic material
(Class Reptilia, Order Sauria) that were examined: ZRC.1.6025-6030, 6044-6047,
previously unrecorded for the island. Each 10551-10565, 10579-10589 (Peninsular Malay-
species is presented in greater detail below. sia: Perak; Bukit Larut).
Family Microhylidae
MATERIALS AND METHODS Microhyla heymonsi Vogt, 1911
Metamorphs already displayed the
A review of the amphibian and reptile diagnostic dark lateral bands. This is the second
collection at the Zoological Reference Collec- species of Microhyla known on Phuket, apart
tion (ZRC) of the Raffles Museum of Bio- from M. ornata (Duméril and Bibron, 1841).
diversity Research (RMBR), National Uni- M. heymonsi is a widespread species, known
versity of Singapore, revealed that certain from China, India, Nicobars, Vietnam, Thai-
species previously collected from Phuket land, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra (Iskan-
(mainly August-September 2001; T. M. Leong dar & Colijn, 2000).
et al.) actually constituted new island records. Material examined: emergents (ZRC.1.8505-
The sex of each individual was determined as 8506;- SVL 5.1-5.5 mm; open area outside
far as possible. Snout-vent lengths (SVL) and Manik waterfalls).
tail lengths were measured (to 0.1mm) using Family Megophryidae
slide verniers. Vouchers were assigned catalog Megophrys parva (Boulenger, 1893)
numbers (ZRC). Representative specimens will The lack of any dermal projections on the
subsequently be deposited at the herpetology upper eye-lid is a diagnostic character.
collection of the National Science Museum, Pigmented nuptial pads are clearly visible on
Thailand. the dorsal surfaces of their first and second
fingers. Larvae of Megophrys were collected
RESULTS from Ton Sai waterfalls, and are most likely
referable to this species. This is the only
New Anuran Records species of Megophrys known from the island
Family Bufonidae thus far. In addition to Thailand, this species is
Ansonia malayana Inger, 1960 also known from Myanmar, south China, and
This represents the third Bufonid to occur north India (Iskandar and Colijn, 2000).
on the island, other than Bufo melanostictus and Material examined: adult males (ZRC.1.8489-
Bufo parvus. The Phuket population of A. 8492, 8595-8596; SVL 43.5-47.4 mm; Kathu
malayana agrees with Inger’s (1960) descrip- waterfalls); larvae (ZRC.1.8578-8579, Gosner
tion of the Thai series from Chumporn and stages 30 and 38; Ton Sai waterfalls).
Tasan, exhibiting characteristics that depart Family Ranidae
from the topotypic series from Larut Hills, Limnonectes macrognathus (Boulenger, 1917)
Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. There are notice- Diagnostic characters could be clearly distin-
able differences in (a) ventral ornamentaion: guished, especially in mature males. These
larger yellow spots in the Thai series, compared include an enlarged head; with swellings on the
with small yellow dots in the Malaysian series, occipital region and posterior to the inter-orbital
and (b) webbing of hind foot: slightly more area (swellings not projecting as a free flap);
extensive webbing in the Thai series.
TZI MING LEONG ET AL. ADDITIONAL ANURAN AND SAURIAN RECORDS FOR PHUKET 19

tympanum equal to, or greater than eye (Nakhon Si Thammarat province), Penin-
diameter; head deepened (dorso-ventral) and sular Malaysia (including Penang and Tioman
slightly widened posteriorly; lower jaw with islands), Sumatra, and the Anambas islands
distinct odontoid processes (Taylor, 1962). In (Manthey and Grossmann, 1997).
life, all specimens displayed a sulphur yellow Material examined: ZRC.2.5225 (Adult
colour ventrally, at the thoracic and abdominal female; SVL 110.4 mm, tail 151.5 mm; Bang
areas, continuing onto the underside of their Pae waterfalls).
hindlimbs. Externally, L. macrognathus is
Draco taeniopterus Günther, 1861
superficially similar to L. doriae (Boulenger,
This small species of Draco has not been
1887), which had been recorded by D. W. Frith
recorded for the island previously, in addition
(1977) from Phuket. Hence, the occurrence of
to D. blandfordii Boulenger, 1885, D.
true L. doriae on the island remains to be
maculatus (Gray, 1845) and D. volans
verified. However, there is also the possibility
sumatranus Schlegel, 1844 (Grossmann and
that both L. macrognathus and L. doriae might
Tillack, 2000). Elsewhere, D. taeniopterus is
co-occur syntopically on the island. L.
known from Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia
macrognathus is known from Myanmar,
(Manthey and Grossmann, 1997).
Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia (Iskandar and
Material examined: ZRC.2.5219 (adult
Colijn, 2000).
female, gravid; SVL 74.2 mm, tail 95.8 mm;
Material examined: ZRC.1.8453a-c (SVL
Kathu waterfalls).
30.2-42.9 mm; Kathu waterfalls); ZRC.1.8485
(male, SVL 47.4 mm; Kathu waterfalls); Family Gekkonidae
ZRC.1.8486-8488 (SVL 29.2-48.2 mm; Kathu Cyrtodactylus oldhami (Theobald, 1876)
waterfalls); ZRC.1.8582 (male, SVL 44.7 mm; This is the second representative of the
Manik waterfalls); ZRC.1.8593 (SVL 40.8 mm; genus Cyrtodactylus to be found on the island,
Kathu waterfalls). in addition to C. brevipalmatus (Smith, 1923).
C. oldhami is known from Burma and Thailand
Taylorana hascheana (Stoliczka, 1870)
(Manthey & Grossmann, 1997).
Diagnostic characters include its small size
Material examined: ZRC.2.4907 (adult
and reduced webbing of fourth toe. In life, the
female; SVL 81.2 mm, tail 88.9 mm; Kathu
throat to belly was light yellow, while the
waterfalls); ZRC.2.5213 (adult male; SVL
underside of the hind limbs were deep orange.
79.4 mm, tail 80.9 mm; Kathu waterfalls);
Outside of Thailand, this species is known
ZRC.2.5226 (adult female; SVL 84.6 mm, tail
from Peninsular Malaysia to the south, and
92.8 mm; Kathu waterfalls); ZRC.2.5230 (sub-
Vietnam and India to the north (Manthey and
adult male; SVL 64.7 mm, tail 79.0 mm;
Grossmann, 1997).
Manik waterfalls).
Material examined: ZRC.1.8452 (SVL 33.2
mm); ZRC.1.8484 (SVL 31.1 mm); both from Family Scincidae
Kathu waterfalls. Mabuya macularia (Blyth, 1853)
In life, throat adorned with orange-red
New Saurian Records
colouration (breeding male). This is the second
Family Agamidae
species of Mabuya known from Phuket, other
Acanthosaura armata (Hardwicke and Gray,
than the widespread human-commensal M.
1827)
multifasciata (Kuhl, 1820). M. macularia itself
This represents the second species of
is also relatively widespread, ranging from
Acanthosaura known to occur on the island,
India, throughout mainland Southeast Asia,
apart from A. crucigera Boulenger, 1885
down to northern Peninsular Malaysia (Cox et
(Grossmann and Tillack, 2000). A. armata has
al., 1998).
been previously recorded from South Thailand
20 NAT. HIST. J. CHULALONGKORN UNIV. 3(1), APRIL 2003

Material examined: ZRC.2.5231 (adult sequently been recorded from Assam, northeast
male, hemipenes everted; SVL 58.5 mm, tail India (Sengupta et al., 2001).
61.7 mm, two pre-anals present, 13 sub-digital
lamellae on 4th toe; Ton Sai waterfalls). Of the four new lizard records, three
(except Acanthosaura armata) have been
recorded from Phang Nga as well (Grossmann
DISCUSSION and Tillack, 2000). As with the anuran records,
it is not surprising that species found on the
Of the five new anuran records for Phuket, adjacent mainland are also known to occur on
at least three (Ansonia malayana, Microhyla Phuket as well, bearing testimony to earlier
heymonsi and Taylorana hascheana) have been land connections. At the same time, it is
recorded from Khao Lak (mainland) previously, actually encouraging to discover that even more
with M. heymonsi known from Phang Nga as species of terrestrial herpetofauna are surviving
well (Grossmann and Tillack, 2000). Although within the last pockets of remnant primary and
Megophrys aceras and M. longipes have been secondary forest of Phuket, which essentially
found in Khao Lak, neither have been form the island’s key central catchment area for
discovered in Phuket so far (Grossmann and water supplies. As in many places around
Tillack, 2000). Conversely, no confirmed Southeast Asia, the long term viability of
examples of true M. parva have been found such isolated, fragmented populations will
from either Khao Lak or Phang Nga, but an as always be questioned. In the meantime,
yet unidentified Megophrys had been collected however, the potential for unearthing even
from Khao Lak (Grossmann and Tillack, 2000) more records for the island still remains
and may turn out to be this species. The promising. Inclusive of new records, the
occurrence of Limnonectes doriae in Khao Lak, current tally for amphibian species on Phuket
Phang Nga and Phuket will require further stands at 26, and 27 for lizards.
investigation and verification, as there is
potential confusion with other members in this
species group, such as L. kohchangae, L. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
macrognathus and L. pileatus.
Robert F. Inger (Field Museum of Natural
The recently described Megophryid Lepto- History, Chicago) gladly provided valuable
brachium smithi Matsui, Nabhitabhata and insights and opinions on some poorly known
Panha, 1999 (Type locality: Ton Nam Plu and problematic anuran species groups. Harold
waterfall, Khao Chong, Trang Province) had K. Voris (Field Museum of Natural History,
actually been previously reported as occurring Chicago) generously shared his expertise on the
in Phuket (Matsui et al., 1999), but was not Pleistocene scenarios in and around Phuket.
reflected in the table compiled by Grossmann Hidetoshi Ota (Editor – Current Herpetology,
and Tillack (2000). Nevertheless, voucher formerly Japanese Journal of Herpetology)
specimens of adults, larvae and metamorphs kindly provided a copy of the paper by Matsui
(ZRC.1.8459-8478, 8583-8592, 8594; Kathu et al. (1999). Indraneil Das (UNIMAS, Sarawak)
and Manik waterfalls) belonging to this species brought to attention the range extension for
were examined. Larval L. smithi were often Leptobrachium smithi. Peter K. L. Ng and
found together with the loach Schistura robertsi Kelvin K. P. Lim (RMBR, NUS) provided
Kottelat, 1990, as they shared similar micro- encouragement through granting access to
habitats of the larger pools in between cascades. relevant literature and specimens, plus
Emergents attained SVL’s of ca. 24 mm at comments on the initial draft. Further detailed
complete metamorphosis. L. smithi has sub- and dedicated reviews by R. F. Inger (FMNH)
TZI MING LEONG ET AL. ADDITIONAL ANURAN AND SAURIAN RECORDS FOR PHUKET 21

and Olivier S. G. Pauwels (Institut Royal des Herpetofauna. I. Amphibians. Treubia, Vol. 31,
Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Belgium) were Part 3 (Supplement), pp. 1-134.
instrumental in polishing the manuscript. Manthey, U. and W. Grossmann. 1997. Amphibien
und Reptilien Südostasiens. Natur und Tier-
Verlag, Matthias Schmidt, Münster. 512 pp.
LITERATURE CITED Matsui, M., J. Nabhitabhata and S. Panha. 1999. On
Leptobrachium from Thailand with a description
Cox, M. J., P. P. van Dijk, J. Nabhitabhata and K. of a new species (Anura: Pelobatidae). Japanese
Thirakhupt. 1998. A photographic guide to Journal of Herpetology. 18 (1): 19-29.
snakes and other reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Pauwels, O. S. G. and A. M. Bauer. 2001.
Singapore and Thailand. New Holland. 144 pp. Geographic distribution. Hemiphyllodactylus
Frith, C. B. 1977. A survey of the snakes of Phuket typus (Common Indo-Pacific Tree Gecko).
Island and the adjacent mainland areas of Herpetological Review, 32(2): 119.
Peninsular Thailand. Natural History Bulletin of Pauwels, O. S. G., O. A. Laohawat, W. Naaktae,
the Siam Society. 26 (3&4): 263-316. C. Puangjit, T. Wisutharom, C. Chimsunchart
Frith, D. W. 1977. A preliminary list of the and P. David. 2002. Reptile and amphibian
Amphibia of Phuket Island and adjacent diversity in Phang-nga Province, Southern
mainland, Peninsular Thailand. Natural History Thailand. Natural History Journal of Chula-
Bulletin of the Siam Society. 26 (3&4): 189-199. longkorn University, 2(1): 25-30.
Grossmann, W. and F. Tillack. 2000. Bemerkungen Pauwels, O. S. G., A. Ohler, A. Dubois, J.
zur Herpetofauna des Khao Lak, Phang Nga, Nabhitabhata, O. A. Laohawat and C.
thailändische Halbinsel. Teil I: Einführung; Chimsunchart. 1999. Kaloula baleata (Müller,
Amphibia; Reptilia: Sauria. Sauria, Berlin. 22 1836) (Anura: Microhylidae), an addition to the
(4): 23-38. batrachofauna of Thailand. Natural History
Grossmann, W. and F. Tillack. 2001a. Bemerkungen Bulletin of the Siam Society, 47(2): 261-264.
zur Herpetofauna des Khao Lak, Phang Nga, Sengupta, S., N. K. Choudhury and I. Das. 2001.
thailändische Halbinsel. Teil II: Reptilia: Leptobrachium smithi Matsui, Nabhitabhata and
Serpentes; Testudines; Diskussion. Sauria, Panha, 1999 (Anura: Megophryidae), a new
Berlin. 23 (1): 25-40. record for India. Journal Bombay Natural
Grossmann, W. and F. Tillack. 2001b. Bemerkungen History Society. 98 (2): 289-290.
zur Herpetofauna des Khao Lak, Phang Nga, Taylor, E. H. 1962. The amphibian fauna of
thailändische Halbinsel. Teil III: Ergebnisse der Thailand. University of Kansas Science Bulletin,
Jahre 1999 und 2000. Sauria, Berlin. 23 (3): 21- Lawrence. 43: 265-599.
34. Voris, H. K. 2000. Maps of Pleistocene sea level in
Inger, R. F. 1960. A review of the oriental toads of Southeast Asia: shorelines, river systems and
the genus Ansonia Stoliczka. Fieldiana Zoology. time durations. Journal of Biogeography. 27:
39 (42): 473-503. 1153-1167.
Iskandar, D. T. and E. Colijn. 2000. Preliminary
checklist of Southeast Asian and New Guinean Received: 24 December 2002
Accepted: 19 June 2003