''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of "

true frog True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North A ...

", family Ranidae. It is found in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

(Indonesia). The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''centropeninsularis'' refers to the area of its original discovery, the state of

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

in the central Peninsular Malaysia. Later on, it has also been recorded in the province of

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...

in east-central Sumatra. ''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' is a rare species known from few individuals only. Prior to its

description Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

, ''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' was confused with ''

Pulchrana siberu ''Pulchrana siberu'', also known as the Siberut Island frog, is a species of true frog, family Ranidae. It is found in the Mentawai Islands, off the Sumatran west coast (Indonesia), including the eponymous Siberut Island. It possibly occurs in Su ...

'', its closest relative.

Description

Adult males measure in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

; females are unknown. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct and the supratympanic fold is prominent. The limbs are long and slender. The fingers lack webbing while the toes have reduced webbing. Both the fingers and toes have tips that are dilated into small, pointed discs. The mid-

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

region is entirely black and laterally delimited by complete, orange dorsolater stripes that originate from the

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

and terminate at the

sacrum The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...

, forming a near-complete loop. The flanks and dorsal side of limbs bear round, creamy yellow spots, some of them connecting to form short bars. The venter is grayish-brown; the throat has whitish spots and the belly has whitish reticulations. Males have paired subgular

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...

Habitat and conservation

''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' inhabits primary and secondary lowland forests; in Malaysia, its elevational range is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is associated with swamps. Although the

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected away from streams, the

IUCN SSC The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natura ...

Amphibian Specialist Group suggests that it breeds in streams. ''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' is a rare species known from a few locations and individuals. Although tolerance of this species to habitat disturbance is unknown, the heavy human impact on and the disappearance of swamp habitats that is taking place throughout Southeast Asia, mostly because of agricultural development for oil palm and for urban development, is considered a threat to this species. ''Pulchrana centropeninsularis'' is present in Lakum Forest Reserve (its type locality) and

Krau Wildlife Reserve Krau Wildlife Reserve is the largest wildlife reserve covering 60,349 ha located in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central state of Pahang, Malaysia that was established during the British Colonial Administration. It is located nearby Benom Mountain in ...

, both in Peninsular Malaysia.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q56350022, from2=Q17000332 centropeninsularis Amphibians of Indonesia Amphibians of Malaysia Fauna of Sumatra Amphibians described in 2014 Taxa named by Nohrayati Ahmad Taxa named by Rafe M. Brown Taxa named by Chan Kin Onn Taxa named by Larry Lee Grismer Taxa named by Kelvin Kok Peng Lim