Scutiger (frog) explained

Scutiger is a genus of toads in the family Megophryidae. Common name lazy toads has been coined for them. They occur in China, Burma, Nepal, and northern India in high-altitude habitats. Most are endemic to China.^[1]

Evolution

A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that Scutiger originated in Paleo-Tibet during the Oligocene.^[2]

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Scutiger:^[3]

• Scutiger adungensis Dubois, 1979  - Adung lazy toad
• Scutiger bhutanensis Delorme and Dubois, 2001
• Scutiger boulengeri (Bedriaga, 1898)  - Boulenger's lazy toad, Xizang alpine toad, Himalayan stream frog
• Scutiger brevipes (Liu, 1950)
• Scutiger chintingensis Liu and Hu, 1960  - Chinting lazy toad, Chinting alpine toad
• Scutiger ghunsa Khatiwada, Shu, Subedi, Wang, Ohler, Cannatella, Xie, and Jiang, 2019  - Ghunsa high altitude toad
• Scutiger glandulatus (Liu, 1950)  - Hopachai lazy toad, chest gland cat-eyed toad
• Scutiger gongshanensis Yang and Su, 1979  - Gongshan lazy toad, Gongshan cat-eyed toad
• Scutiger jiulongensis Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 1995  - Jiulong cat-eyed toad
• Scutiger liupanensis Huang, 1985  - Liupan lazy toad, Liupan alpine toad
• Scutiger maculatus (Liu, 1950)  - spotted lazy toad, piebald alpine toad
• Scutiger mammatus (Günther, 1896)  - Tungsolo lazy toad
• Scutiger muliensis Fei and Ye, 1986  - Muli cat-eyed toad
• Scutiger nepalensis Dubois, 1974  - Nepal lazy toad, mountain pelobatid toad, Asiatic spadefoot toad
• Scutiger ningshanensis Fang, 1985  - Ningshan lazy toad, Ningshan alpine toad
• Scutiger nyingchiensis Fei, 1977  - Nyingchi lazy toad, Ladakh pelobatid toad, Nyingshi alpine toad
• Scutiger occidentalis Dubois, 1978  - Ladakh high altitude toad
• Scutiger pingwuensis Liu and Tian, 1978  - Pingwu lazy toad, Pingwu alpine toad
• Scutiger sikimmensis (Blyth, 1855)  - Sikkim lazy toad, Sikkim high altitude toad, Blyth's short-limbed frog
• Scutiger spinosus Jiang, Wang, Li, and Che, 2016  - spiny lazy toad
• Scutiger tengchongensis Yang & Huang, 2019^{[4] [5]}
• Scutiger tuberculatus Liu and Fei, 1979  - bumpy lazy toad, round-tubercled cat-eyed toad
• Scutiger wanglangensis Ye and Fei, 2007  - Wanglang alpine toad
• Scutiger wuguanfui Jiang, Rao, Yuan, Wang, Li, Hou, Che, and Che, 2012^[1]  - Wu's lazy toad, Medog lazy toad

Endemic ranges

Many Scutiger species are endemic to highly restricted geographical areas in the Eastern Himalayas. The ranges often overlap with those of Oreolalax species.

• Ningxia, China
  • Scutiger liupanensis: Liupanshan National Nature Reserve, Jingyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
• Shaanxi, China
  • Scutiger ningshanensis: Ningshan County, Shaanxi
• Sichuan, China
  • Scutiger brevipes: Dawu County, Sichuan
  • Scutiger chintingensis: Mount Emei area, Sichuan
  • Scutiger jiulongensis: Jiulong County, Sichuan
  • Scutiger maculatus: Garze, Sichuan and Jiangda, Tibet
  • Scutiger muliensis: Muli County, Sichuan
  • Scutiger pingwuensis: Pingwu County, Sichuan
  • Scutiger wanglangensis: Sichuan
• Yunnan, China
  • Scutiger gongshanensis: Gongshan County, Yunnan
• Tibet
  • Scutiger maculatus: Garze, Sichuan and Jiangda, Tibet
  • Scutiger nyingchiensis: Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet
  • Scutiger spinosus: Medog County, Tibet and Tawang District, Arunachal Pradesh
  • Scutiger wuguanfui: Medog County, Tibet
• Bhutan
  • Scutiger bhutanensis: Bhutan
• Sikkim, India
  • Scutiger sikimmensis: Sikkim, India

Further reading

• Fu, J., et al. (1997). Phylogeny of genus Scutiger (Amphibia: Megophryidae): a re-evaluation. Asiatic Herpetol. Res 7, 32–37.

Notes and References

1. Jiang . Ke . Rao . Dingqi . Yuan . Siqi . Wang . Jishan . Li . Pipeng . Hou . Mian . Che . Maihe . Che . Jing . A new species of the genus Scutiger (Anura: Megophryidae) from southeastern Tibet, China . Zootaxa . 13 July 2012 . 3388 . 1 . 29–40 . 10.11646/zootaxa.3388.1.3 .
2. Hofmann . Sylvia . Stöck . Matthias . Zheng . Yuchi . Ficetola . Francesco G. . Li . Jia-Tang . Scheidt . Ulrich . Schmidt . Joachim . Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger) . Scientific Reports . 12 June 2017 . 7 . 1 . 3308 . 10.1038/s41598-017-03395-4 . 28607415 . 5468327 . 2017NatSR...7.3308H .
3. Web site: A New Species of Scutiger (Anura: Megophryidae) from the Gaoligongshan Mountain Range, China. 25 January 2019. Novataxa . 11 February 2019.
4. Yang . Jian-Huan . Huang . Xiang-Yuan . A New Species of Scutiger (Anura: Megophryidae) from the Gaoligongshan Mountain Range, China . Copeia . 18 January 2019 . 107 . 1 . 10 . 10.1643/CH-17-661 . 92290325 .
5. http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2019/01/scutiger-tengchongensis.html Scutiger tengchongensis