Megophrys (Xenophrys) monticola (Günther, 1864) (Figures 6 & 7; Table 1) Xenophrys monticola [partim] Günther 1864:415 + pl. xxvi, fig. H, In: The Reptiles of British India. The Ray Society, London: 452 pp. + xxvii + pl. 1–26. [?] Xenophrys katabhako Deuti et al. 2017:23, 27–35, In: Nomenclatural puzzle in early Xenophrys nomina (Anura, Megophryidae) solved with description of two new species from India (Darjeeling hills and Sikkim). Alytes, 34: 20–48. [?] Xenophrys sanu Deuti et al. 2017:23, 27–35, In: Nomenclatural puzzle in early Xenophrys nomina (Anura, Megophryidae) solved with description of two new species from India (Darjeeling hills and Sikkim). Alytes, 34: 20–48. Lectotype of Xenophrys monticola. Adult female (BMNH 1947.2.25.13 [R.R. [18]60.3.19.1336]: Figure 6), from “ Sikkim ” state, Northeast India, collected by the Schlagintweit brothers (presumably Hermann), some time between 14 April and 15 August 1855 (Schlagintweit et al. 1861). Lectotype designation by Mahony et al. (2017). Paralectotype of Xenophrys monticola (non M. monticola s.s.). Adult male (BMNH [18]53.8.12.52), from “Khasya” [Khasi Hills], Meghalaya state, Northeast India, presented by Sir William Jackson Hooker (BMNH Specimen Catalogue), likely collected by his son Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker between June and September 1850 (Hooker 1854). Paralectotype designation by Mahony et al. (2017). Examined referred specimens. “High-elevation” mitochondrial haplotype (2180–2220 m asl.): three adult males (SDBDU 2011.1046: Figure 7H; SDBDU 2011.1047: Figure 7C, E & H; SDBDU 2011.1048: Figure 7H) and one adult female (SDBDU 2011.1049: Figure 7F & H), from Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary (26°59'38"N, 88°18'0"E, 2220 m asl.), Rambi (East Range), Darjeeling Sadar sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by Systematics Lab members on 0 4 June 2011; three adult males (SDBDU 2011.429 – 431) from Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary (same locality details as above), collected by SDB and RGK on 20 May 2011; one adult male (SDBDU 2011.1029) and one adult female (SDBDU 2011.1030: Figure 7A & G), from Sukhiapokhri-Manebhanjan road (26°59'50.04"N, 88°9'58.56"E, 2180 m asl.), Darjeeling Sadar sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by Systematics Lab members on 0 3 June 2011; one unsexed juvenile (SDBDU 2011.1418), from Bagora Range 8th mile road marker (26°56'44"N, 88°18'00"E, 2180 m asl.), Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by SDB and RGK on 20 May 2011. “Mid-elevation” mitochondrial haplotype (880–1135 m asl.): two adult males (SDBDU 2011.419 & SDBDU 2011.420), from Ghoramara area (26°53'19"N, 88°23'53"E, 1110 m asl.), Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Latpanchar, Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by SDB and RGK on 19 May 2011; one adult male (SDBDU 2011.418) from Stream 1 (26°54'34"N, 88°23'52"E, 1030 m asl.), Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Latpanchar, Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by SDB and RGK on 19 May 2011; three adult males (SDBDU 2011.1070 – 1072) from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (26°53'4.5"N, 88°23'2.46"E, 1080 m asl.), Latpanchar, Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by Systematics Lab members on 0 7 June 2011; two adult males (SDBDU 2011.1056; SDBDU 2011.1066: Figure 7D) and one adult female (SDBDU 2011.1065: Figure 7D), from Latpanchar town (26°54'34.2"N, 88°23'54.54"E, 1135 m asl.), Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by Systematics Lab members on 0 5 and 0 6 June 2011; one adult male (SDBDU 2011.1423: Figure 7B), from Makaibari Tea Estate (26°56'44"N, 88°18'0"E, 880 m asl.), Kurseong sub-division, Darjeeling district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by SDB and RGK on 21 May 2011. Not assigned to molecular haplotype: adult female lectotype (BMNH 1947.2.25.13); two adult females (BMNH [18]72.4.17C; BMNH [18]72.4.17E), from “ Sikkim ” state, Northeast India, collected by T.C. Jerdon, before 1870; one adult male (BMNH [18]72.4.17G), from “Darjeeling” district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by T.C. Jerdon, before 1870; one adult female (ZSIC 9650), from “Darjeeling” district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by J. Gammie. Provisionally referred specimen. One adult male (BMNH [18]72.4.17I), from “Darjeeling” district, West Bengal state, Northeast India, collected by T.C. Jerdon, before 1870. Lectotype description (measurements in mm). Mature female, SVL 40.5 (Figure 6). General preservation condition poor, dehydrated. Head large, as wide as long (HW 16.2, HL 16.2, IFE 7.2, IBE 11.8); snout rounded in dorsal view, obtuse in lateral view, protruding beyond mandible (Figure 6C); rostral appendage absent; loreal region acute and concave with well developed canthus rostralis; dorsal surface of snout concave; eye twice as large as tympanum (EL 5.6, TYD 2.8), slightly longer than snout (SL 5.4); eye–tympanum distance (TYE 2.6) slightly less than tympanum diameter; tympanum oval, obliquely orientated with upper ~20% concealed by supratympanic ridge (Figure 6C); pupil indistinct; nostril positioned laterally with raised posterior rim, equidistant from snout tip and anterior edge of eye (EN 2.7, SN 2.8) [presumed artefact of dehydration]; inter-narial distance slightly wider than space between upper eyelids and upper eyelid width (IN 4.9, IUE 4.7, UEW 4.0); pineal ocellus not visible externally; vomerine ridges small, ovoid, acutely angled, positioned equidistant from choanae and each other, situated between to slightly posterior to choanae; vomerine teeth absent; maxillary teeth present; tongue weakly notched posteriorly, medial lingual process absent. Forelimbs moderately long, thin (Figure 6A & B), forearms not enlarged relative to upper forelimbs, slightly shorter than hand length (FAL 9.5, HAL 9.7); fingers long, narrow (Figure 6D), finger length formula IColouration: In preservative (Figure 6A & B): Dorsal surface of head, body and limbs plain brown; faint darker brown triangular marking between eyes; supratympanic ridges bicoloured, upper half white, lower half dark brown; wide slightly oblique dark brown bar on upper lip below orbits (Figure 6C); gular region and chest dark brown, with dark and light blotches along edges of gular region; dark brown of chest fades posteriorly on abdomen, with some small dark brown blotches on ventrolateral surfaces of flanks; ventral thighs and shanks primarily light with darker blotches laterally; outer tarsi with continuous dark brown blotch from feet to base of shanks (Figure 6E); area surrounding cloaca dark brown; forelimbs brown above with two dark brown transverse stripes on forearms, ventrally light brown; ventral surface of hands and feet faded brown (Figure 6D & E); pectoral and femoral glands lighter than surrounding surfaces. In life: Colouration not originally documented. Description of referred specimen SDBDU 2011.1047 (measurements in mm). Mature male (SVL 40.7) (Figure 7C, E & H). Head moderately large, wider than long (HW 15.5, HL 14.9, IFE 7.7, IBE 12.1); snout bluntly pointed in dorsal view, obtusely protruding in lateral view, without rostral appendage (Figure 7C); loreal region acute, concave; canthus rostralis angular; dorsal surface of snout concave; eyes more than twice as long as maximum diameter of naked portion of tympanum, and shorter than snout length (EL 5.2, TYD 2.4, SL 5.7); eyetympanum distance (TYE 2.7) slightly longer than maximum diameter of visible portion of tympanum; tympanum oval-shaped and slightly oblique, with upper border concealed by supratympanic ridge (Figure 7C); pupils in life oval, horizontally orientated when dilated; nostrils positioned laterally, positioned closer to eyes than to snout tip (EN 2.0, NS 3.3); internarial distance equal to narrowest point between upper eyelids, and greater than eyelid width (IN 4.9, IUE 4.9, UEW 4.3); pineal ocellus not visible externally; vomerine ridges well developed, narrow, weakly raised, orientated acutely, positioned posterior to choanae, closer to choanae than to each other; vomerine teeth small; maxillary teeth present; tongue large, appears rounded posteriorly without notch, medial lingual process absent. Forelimbs moderately long, thin (Figure 7C & E), forearms moderately enlarged relative to upper forelimbs, shorter than hand length (FAL 8.4, HAL 11.4); fingers moderately long, narrow, without lateral fringes, finger length formula I=II Colouration: In preservative (Figure 7E & H): Dorsal and lateral surfaces of head, body and limbs primarily dark greyish-brown; light-edged, solid dark brown triangular marking between eyes; distinct dark brown X-shaped marking on dorsum; flank tubercles dark brown with white tips; front of snout and lateral canthus rostralis dark brown; wide vertical dark brown bar below eyes; dark brown blotch extends from posterior canthus through tympanum to posterior supratympanic ridge; two dark brown blotches on anterior lateral surface of forearms; dorsal surface of Finger III with dark brown blotches; lateral surfaces of thighs and shanks with dark brown spots and blotches; throat, chest, anterior abdomen and ventral surfaces of forelimbs, thighs and shanks primarily light brown, suffused with yellow on lateral and posterior abdomen and limbs; some small dark brown spots and blotches on abdomen; area surrounding cloaca and posterior surfaces of thighs dark brown; ventral surfaces of tarsi and feet dark brown with contrasting light grey on toes; hands ventrally mottled yellowish-white and light brown, ventral surfaces of digits light grey; femoral glands creamish-white. In life (Figure 7C): Markings as described in preservative, but general dorsal colouration light olive green with dorsal ridges, flank tubercles and larger granules suffused with orange; iris colour golden-brown; throat and chest dark brown fading to white posteriorly on abdomen; groin and inner thighs deep reddish-orange. Variation. See Table 1 for morphometric variation between the lectotype and referred specimens consisting of 17 adult males, seven adult females, and one juvenile. The remaining referred specimens resemble the lectotype and referred specimen (described above) for most morphological characters, with some exceptions: relative finger length formula varies considerably between I (”, “>––|”, “>- Secondary sexual characters. Males: weak to moderately raised nuptial pads present, covered with black micro-asperities, covering most of dorsal surface of Finger I, narrowing distally, extending to base of distal phalange on inner dorsal side; nuptial pad on Finger II small to medium sized, widest proximally, usually extending to mid-proximal phalange on inner side; large subgular external vocal sac distinct as loose skin on some specimens; internal vocal slits present near rear of mandible; forearms slightly to moderately enlarged relative to upper forelimbs. Females: mature ova without pigmented poles (diameter Morphological comparison. Megophrys monticola (adult males N =17 [excluding the provisionally referred specimen], adult females N =7) differs from M. mangshanensis by absence of distinct white upper lip stripe (vs. present). For comparisons with subsequent species covered in this paper, refer to relevant morphological comparison sections for those species. Systematic position. Megophrys monticola was found to be the sister taxon to all remaining species in the MMSG (Mahony et al. 2017; Figures 2, 3 & 4). In Darjeeling, this species has two comparatively deeply divergent mitochondrial haplotypes (Appendix I, Table 6; Appendix II, Figures 1, 5, & 7). However, nuclear diversity observed between these populations consisted of pSNPs only (Figures 3 & 5; Appendix II, Figures 3, 4, & 6) indicating recent introgression between mid- (880–1135 m asl.) and high-elevation (2180–2220 m asl.) populations. The mid-elevation populations share an identical mitochondrial haplotype with a specimen referred to the species M. zhangi by Chen et al. (2017), collected from the vicinity of its type locality (Appendix II, Figure 5). However, the RAG1 sequence of this specimen differs significantly from the Darjeeling populations (figure not provided). Further molecular sampling of intervening populations is necessary to identify the biological processes involved, and the taxonomic significance of the shared mitochondrial DNA between these species. Megophrys monticola (as redefined above) differs from the type specimens of M. zhangi by adult male size (see Morphological comparison section of M. zhangi), so our curr, Published as part of Mahony, Stephen, Kamei, Rachunliu G. & Teeling, Emma C., 2018, Cryptic diversity within the Megophrys major species group (Amphibia: Megophryidae) of the Asian Horned Frogs: Phylogenetic perspectives and a taxonomic revision of South Asian taxa, with descriptions of four new species, pp. 1-96 in Zootaxa 4523 (1) on pages 16-30, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4523.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2610202, {"references":["Gunther, A. (1864) The Reptiles of British India. The Ray Society, London, 452 + XXVII pp., 26 pls.","Deuti, K., Grosjean, S., Nicolas, V., Vasudevan, K. & Ohler, A. 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