Nomenclatural History and Rediscovery of Rhacophorus lateralis Boulenger, 1883 (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae)

Abstract

The poorly known south-west Indian rhacophorid, Rhacophorus lateralis Boulenger, 1883, known from a unique holotype in the BMNH, is redescribed based on two adult females, from South Coorg, Karnataka State, south-western India. The species is listed in recent lists as valid, despite an attempted synonymy with Rhacophorus malabaricus Jerdon, 1870, by Wolf (1936). The species is diagnosed by the following suite of characters: skin of forehead free; dorsum dark brown with a pair of yellow lines that run from the region around the nostrils, over the eyelids, along the sides of the body, terminating in the inguinal region; small adult body size (SVL to 32.8mm). The species is illustrated for the first time.