Vol. 18 No. 2 (2023)
Articles

Retracted: New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam

Anh Van Pham
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National University
Truong Quang Nguyen
Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
Nenh Ba Sung
Tay Bac University
Thuy Van Tran
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National University
Minh Duc Le
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National University
Hai Ngoc Ngo
Institute of Genome Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

Published 2023-12-27

Versions

Keywords

  • Formicidae,
  • prey items,
  • Rhinotermitidae,
  • Son La Province,
  • stomach contents

How to Cite

Van Pham, A., Quang Nguyen, T., Ba Sung, N., Van Tran, T. ., Duc Le, M., & Ngoc Ngo, H. (2023). Retracted: New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam. Acta Herpetologica, 18(2), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-14516

Abstract

The Black-spotted Paddy Frog (Micryletta nigromaculata) was recently discovered from northern Vietnam. Due to its restricted distribution in limestone karst forests and habitat degradation, the endemic species has been listed as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. However, knowledge about the natural history of this species is scarce, including data on its dietary ecology. Recent field surveys revealed new populations of M. nigromaculata occurring in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam based on morphological analysis. Using the stomach-flushing method, we analyzed stomach contents of 45 individuals (21 males and 24 females) from a total of 52 captured frogs because stomachs of six males and one female (13.5%) were empty. The food spectrum of M. nigromaculata comprises 12 types with a total of 691 prey items (687 invertebrate items and four unidentified items), belonging to six insect orders, larvae and Araneae. Similar to other species of the family Microhylidae, M. nigromaculata is also identified as an ant (Formicidae) – termite (Rhinotermitidae) eating specialist with distinctly higher percentages of occurrence frequency (F = 65 %), number of prey items (N = 80 %), and importance (Ix = 75 %) than those of remaining types. The Simpson diversity index of 0.939 shows a high abundance of food prey in the wild, and the Evenness index of 0.536 suggests biased consumption of feeding selection for M. nigromaculata.

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