Zug, George R., Mulcahy, Daniel G., Vindum, Jens V., and Wilkinson, Jeffery A. 2018. "Anurans of the Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar: a preview of increasing species diversity." Alytes, 36, (1–4) 266–275.
Tanintharyi, the southern-most region and political division of Myanmar, has lacked a thorough assessment of its anuran fauna. In 2003, 2009 and 2010, the Myanmar Herpetological Survey was permitted access to the Pakchan Forest Reserve, and the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve, and surrounding areas. Then in 2014, the Smithsonian was invited to join the Fauna & Flora International’s (FFI) biotic survey, first in the proposed Tanitntharyi National Park (east of Myeik), then of the more southern localities in the proposed Lenya National Park and its extension (2015–2016), and parts of the Myeik Archipelago in 2017. In all surveys, tissues were collected for subsequent genetic analysis. The FFI surveys included genomic sampling and subsequent DNA Barcoding and phylogenetic analyses that confirmed species identification and regularly demonstrated that what appeared morphologically as a single species was often more a composite of two or more species. Herein we provide a checklist of Tanintharyi frogs and one caecilian, and a few examples of the cryptic species diversity discovered.
