Bufotes latastii ( Boulenger, 1882 )

Raj, Prudhvi, Vasudevan, Karthikeyan, Dutta, Sushil Kumar, Sahoo, Gunanidhi, Mahapatra, Susmita & Sharma, Richa, 2023, Larval morphology of selected anuran species from India, Alytes 39 - 40, pp. 1-140 : 8-11

S1. Bufotes latastii ( Boulenger, 1882) ( fig. 4‒5 )

Larval series examined. WT 036.9409 (stream near Kachan village , near Saku village, Kargil, India; 34.36552 N, 75.96922 E). Tadpoles were collected from a slow flowing stream at a depth of five centimeters. Substratum in the stream was gravel with no vegetation.

Notes. The taxonomic identity of the tadpoles was confirmed based on the partial 16S rRNA sequence (OQ079489) generated from a tadpole of the above vouchered collection. It showed no divergence to the published Genbank sequence ( FJ 861313 ) from taxonomically identified specimens of Bufotes latastii . Tadpoles of this species were described by Smith (1924) and Khan (2006).

External morphology. Description of a tadpole at Gosner stage 38. Body ovoid and globular in dorsal and lateral perspectives ( fig. 4a‒b ). Body length 43.1 % of total length; maximum body diameter attained at mid-length of body. Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral perspectives. Eyes large, located and oriented dorsolaterally; distance between eye and nostril 34.7 % of distance between eye and snout. Opening of nostril reniform, closer to eyes than to snout, placed parallel to eye in dorsal perspective; inter-narial distance 57.6% of inter-orbital distance; distance between nostril and snout 17.4 % of body length. Spiracle sinistral and short; inner wall of tube formed but attached to body wall; tube orientation posterolateral, its opening located just below the middle and above the venter on lateral side of body. Distance between spiracle and snout 74.6 % of body length. Vent tube opening median with a broad opening. Tip of tail broadly rounded; musculature linear till mid-length of tail, after which it starts to taper. Dorsal fin originating at body-tail junction, ventral fin originating at ventral terminus; dorsal and ventral fins of equal height throughout length of tail tip. Maximum tail height at about mid-length. Height of tail muscle 1.45 times width of muscle at body-tail junction. Tail (caudal) musculature accounting for 44.8 % of height of tail. Lateral line visible along snout and lateral sides of body and tail fin. Glands absent on outer integument.

Oral disc anteroventral in location ( fig. 4c ). Rostral width of oral disc 42 % of maximum body width, emarginated, not visible dorsally; single row of marginal papillae spread on lateral commissures of oral disc; two to three submarginal papillae at lateral commissures; both labia of equal size. Labial tooth row formula A2(2)/P3. Order of lengths of labial tooth rows A1> P1> P2> A2> P3. Pigmentation of jaw sheaths present only on borders. Both jaw sheath margins with small uniform serrations; supra-rostrodont longer than wide, convex, with median region protruding towards posterior; infra-rostrodont U-shaped, convex laterally and concave medially.

Measurements of 12 tadpoles at various Gosner stages (26‒29, 31‒32, 38) are given in tab. 1 .

Coloration. In life, dorsal body olive-brown with large melanophores. Ventral integument opaque and dirty white with some iridescence on gular region. Muscle region of tail brownish-black, both fins transparent, with few melanophores on dorsal and on posterior region of ventral fin. Oral disc and vent tube translucent, dotted with few melanophores. Spiracle pigmented.

Buccopharyngeal morphology. Buccal roof ( fig. 5a ). Prenarial arena of roof with two pustules located laterally. Internal nares transverse, oriented 45° anteromedially; gap between nares narrow and about half length of nare; anterior narial wall pustulose with few tiny pustules spread evenly; posterior wall smooth and valvular. Postnarial arena with two papillae arranged linearly in an inverted ‘V’ oriented anteromedially; papillae of medium height, with papilla closer to medial plane longer than papilla at lateral corners. Median ridge papilla triangular with a pustulated trifid tip. A single bifid lateral ridge papilla present on each side of lateral wall perpendicular to medial papilla; surface of papillae rugose. BRA demarcated with three pairs of conical papillae on lateral border of roof; pustules absent in BRA. Glandular zone thick and prominent, with secretory pits spread uniformly. Dorsal velum low and continuous, with few tiny projections medially.

Buccal floor ( fig. 5b ). Prelingual arena smooth and comprising one palp on each side of posterior lateral corners of jaw sheath; palp broad and dilated with rugose surface along with a long dorsal projection. Tongue anlage broad and low; one pair of pustulated conical lingual papillae. BFA well defined by six pairs of long conical papillae beginning from middle of BFA and converging posterolateral; anterior BFA papillae taller with second papilla taller than posterior; three-four papillae present in lateral region between BFA papillae and ventral velum; BFA composed of about eight to ten pustules. Buccal pocket opening broad and obtuse; three to four pustules in region between tongue anlage and buccal pockets; pre-pocket papillae absent. Ventral velum margin almost smooth with few tiny projections; median notch prominent. Glottis exposed slightly posterior to ventral velum.

Figures

Figure 4. Bufotes latastii, Gosner stage 38. External morphology: (a) Lateral view; (b) Dorsal view; (c) Ventral view. Scale = 10 mm.

Figure 5. Bufotes latastii, Gosner stage 32. Buccopharyngeal region: (a) Buccal roof, Alcian Blue stained photograph, scale = 1 mm; (b) Buccal floor, Alcian Blue stained photograph, scale = 0.5 mm.