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The genus Kurixalus Ye, Fei et Dubois, 1999 (Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932) is a small and taxonomically difficult group of treefrogs for which biological and reproductive data are missing for most of the species. A recent study of the K. odontotarsus species group (Yu et al., 2017a) revealed numerous undescribed lineages. Among them a lineage comprising specimens from Myanmar and western Yunnan, China was described as K. yangi. We report here the presence of a population of this species from Nagaland, North East India, identified by DNA barcoding of the 16S rRNA gene and morphology. A pair of adults found in amplexus is described morphologically. Data on reproduction and developmental mode were until now unknown for the continental species of this genus. Observation of reproduction in the field of K. yangi from Nagaland provided us data on its reproductive activity including spawning behavior and reproductive mode, and details on the larval developmental timing. The tadpole of this species is described for the first time including buccal anatomy. Adults are commonly found in the stumps of bamboo internodes. They breed in forest ponds, temporary rain pools or rain water tanks. Breeding activity starts from mid-April till late part of July. Unpigmented eggs measure 2.4 – 2.7 mm and are laid underwater. Under natural conditions (air temperature 18 – 30°C, water temperature 12 – 24°C), the frog complete its larval life cycle in 47 days. The tadpole shows a «classical» pond-dwelling morphology and reproductive mode. These reproductive data are compared to the Taiwanese species for which the developmental mode is well known and the evolution of the reproductive modes within the genus is discussed.

The knowledge of the development is important in organisms with a biphasic life cycle, as in anuran amphibians, particularly in families in which the developmental modes greatly vary between genera and are used for their systematics. This is the case of the family Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932. The tadpoles of Rhacophorus kio Ohler & Delorme, 2006 and Rhacophorus rhodopus Liu & Hu, 1960, two sympatric species of the genus Rhacophorus Kuhl & Van Hasselt, 1822 found in syntopy in Northwestern Thailand are molecularly identified, morphologically described and illustrated. The buccal anatomy is documented and described. These two tadpoles are compared to the known tadpoles of their species group as here newly defined based on the latest molecular results. Additionally they are compared to the known tadpoles of the Rhacophorus species that can be found in sympatry with them.

Fossil material from the lower Miocene collected in the basin lake of Beskonak (Turkey) included 19 slabs showing 19 amphibian anuran tadpoles of rather large size, at Gosner stages 36–38. These well preserved specimens show many morphological and skeletal characters. They are here tentatively referred to the genus Pelobates. Two of these tadpoles show an unusual group of black roundish spots in the abdominal region, and a third similar group of spots is present in another slab but we were unable to state if it was associated with a tadpole or not. Several hypotheses can be proposed to account for these structures: artefacts; intestinal content (seeds; inert, bacterial or fungal aggregations; eggs); internal or external parasites; diseases; eggs produced by the tadpole. The latter hypothesis is discussed in detail and is shown to be unlikely for several reasons. However, in the improbable case where these spots would correspond to eggs, this would be the first reported case of natural paedogenesis in anurans, a phenomenon which has been so far considered impossible mostly for anatomical reasons (e.g., absence of space in the abdominal cavity).

Descriptions of external morphology and buccal features are provided together with ontogenetic data of the tadpoles of Hylarana humeralis and Hylarana leptoglossa. These tadpoles are compared to known tadpoles of the genus Hylarana as defined by recent phylogenetic analyses here grouped in subgenera as previously proposed. The content of the subgenus Humerana is re-evaluated. The occurrence of three relevant larval characters (keratodont row formula, presence of long marginal papillae on the lower labium and presence of glands) is examined among the different subgenera and clades inferred from molecular phylogenies to assess their homogeneity regarding larval morphology. The smaller eggs of H. humeralis hatch into larger tadpoles and subsequently larger adults than the bigger eggs of H. leptoglossa. The reasons for the observed shift in size during stage 25 for these two species are briefly discussed in the light of literature data.

The larval morphology of Madagascan frogs of the family Microhylidae, subfamilies Dyscophinae and Scaphiophryninae, is described based on material from the genera Dyscophus ( D. insularis ), Paradoxophyla ( P. palmata ) and five species of the enigmatic genus Scaphiophryne : S. brevis , S. calcarata , S. madagascariensis , S. menabensis and S. spinosa . The latter are known to have larvae that are intermediate between the filter-feeding larval type typical for most microhylids and the generalized tadpole of most ranoid and hyloid frogs. However, the two detailed descriptions available to date, referring to Scaphiophryne calcarata and S. gottlebei , pointed to important differences in size and oral morphology within Scaphiophryne . Our data confirm that all studied Scaphiophryne have horny beaks but lack keratodonts and are to be referred to the psammonektonic ecomorphological guild. Scaphiophryne brevis and S. calcarata have rather small tadpoles (up to 22 mm total length) whereas S. madagascariensis , S. menabensis and S. spinosa , as well as S. gottlebei , have larger tadpoles (up to 48 mm total length) with a striking distance between the skin and the internal organs, giving the head and body a balloon-like appearance. These two morphological tadpole groups agree with previously published molecular phylogenetic data and support the classification of these species in the two subgenera Pseudohemisus and Scaphiophryne . The larva of the genus Paradoxophyla , the sister group of Scaphiophryne , has a typical microhylid filter-feeding morphology and shares many synapomorphies with other microhylids. Since a convergent evolution of these features is unlikely, the ancestors of Scaphiophryne appear to have re-acquired their beak and other characters that at first view are plesiomorphic. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 151 , 555‐576. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: amphibia ‐ DNA barcoding ‐ Dyscophus insularis ‐ Madagascar ‐ Microhylidae ‐ Paradoxophyla palmata ‐ phylogeny ‐ tadpole morphology.

Based on specimens identified by DNA barcoding, we describe the tadpoles of 11 species of treefrogs (Boophis) in the Malagasy family Mantellidae. All tadpoles belong to species of the stream‐breeding clade within Boophis. Based on these and other published descriptions of Boophis tadpoles which develop in running water bodies, we tentatively distinguish three ecomorphological guilds for these larvae. Guild A, in which we describe the larvae of B. boehmei, B. reticulatus, B. pyrrhus, B. tasymena, and B. viridis which have few lotic adaptations, their oral disc width being 31–43% of body width, with a single row of 48–81 marginal papillae, and the first upper keratodont row having 58–144 keratodonts. Guild B, in which we describe the tadpoles of B. albilabris, B. madagascariensis, B. luteus, and of an undescribed species here named B. sp. aff. elenae, is intermediate, with an enlarged oral disc, an increasing number of keratodont rows and a lower height of the caudal fin. In these tadpoles, oral disc width ...

The tadpole of Atelopus franciscus from French Guyana is described. It resembles other larvae of the genus, especially those displaying a color pattern of symmetrical light marks. Among them, A. franciscus is most similar to those tadpoles having submarginal papillae (i.e., Atelopus balios, Atelopus flavescens, Atelopus nanay, Atelopus tricolor). The tadpole of A. franciscus shares several similarities with the larva of A. flavescens from French Guyana but differs from it by being smaller in size and in certain measurement. The phylogenetic relevance of tadpole characters in Atelopus is discussed, including body proportions, submarginal papillae, length of upper beak.

We describe the larval stages of three species of the Asian-African tiger frogs Hoplobatrachus chinensis, H. occipitalis and H. tigerinus. The tadpoles of all three species are very similar, with peculiar oral features: (1) double rows of needle-like labial teeth, (2) strong emarginations on the large jaw sheaths and (3) keratinized spurs on the buccal floor. Characters 1 and 2 (and perhaps 3) are probably related to the carnivorous habits of these tadpoles. A molecular phylogeny based on 2430 base pairs of two nuclear and four mitochondrial genes corroborated monophyly of Asian and African Hoplobatrachus, and identified Euphlyctis as their sister group. Tadpoles of the latter genus lack buccal spurs and double labial tooth rows but share large jaw sheaths, the upper with a medial projection. Therefore, the common ancestor of Euphlyctis and Hoplobatrachus probably was also characterized by this state, and may have been facultatively carnivorous. Further carnivorous specializations in Hoplobatrachus could explain why tiger frogs have been so successful in populating arid environments where ponds are at high risk of desiccation. Larval morphology may prove to be the key innovation which enabled them to disperse, in the Late Cenozoic, into their current very wide distribution area in Asia and Africa. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 81, 171–181.

Frogs in the subgenus Lalos of the genus Leptolalax (Megophryidae) are highly diversified in continental Asia and consist of about 17 nominal species. These frogs are small, inconspicuous, and of high superficial morphological similarity. We here formulate a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships and assess the amount of genetic variation among genealogical lineages on the basis of 536bp of mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. Combining molecular data with a study of morpho-logy, morphometric divergence and geographical proximity, we tested hypotheses of species identity. We (1) used character-based and morphometric analyses to assign the onymophoronts (type specimens) of species in Lalos available to us to respectively one of the main clades, in order to propose the best potential correct taxonomic and nomenclatural allocation for the individuals included in the molecular study, and (2) tried to also assign the historical museum specimens to these molecular taxonomic units and to reclassify them whenever necessary. We also used the molecular data to match tadpoles with adults and provide tadpole descriptions for species the larvae of which were previously unknown. Specimens, that could neither be allocated to a molecularly characterised species (on the basis of their DNA “barcode”) nor to a morphologically defined species named on the basis of a type specimen, are described here as new species. Based on this integrative set of data and analyses we describe two new species, Leptolalax eos n. sp. and Leptolalax nyx n. sp., we resurrect Leptolalax minimus, and reassess the distribution of the species studied. We propose changes in the Red List status of L. pelodytoides and L. ventripunctatus and suggest a conservation status for the new species described herein.