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NOTES AND QUERIES
and Mr. Stephen J. Karsen at an altitude of about 700 metres on Lantau Peak on 19 October 1979 that it became possible to confirm the identification of this species on the basis of both stages of its life cycle. Subsequently, two more of these frogs were found by Father Anthony Bogadek: one at around 690 metres altitude on Tai Mo Shan on 26 October and the other between Lantau Peak and Ngong Ping (altitude not recorded) on 9 November 1979.
Leptobrachium pelodyroides has been recorded—as Megophrys pelodytoides from Fukien (= Fujian) in China by Pope (1931, p.447). It has also been listed (under the name Carpophrys pelodytoides) for China from Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangxi (Anon., 1977). These frogs as represented in Hong Kong are closely related to certain other geographical populations of frogs, for example in Thailand and Malaysia, and evidently there is need of a comprehensive study. Until one herpetologist can bring together specimens, which should include tadpoles, from all related populations for comparison, the geographical limits of Leptobrachium pelodytoides will remain undefined.
One of the adult frogs and two of the tadpoles recorded here from Hong Kong have been presented to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The others, except for one of the frogs, are in my own private collection.
My thanks are due to Dr. Robert F. Inger (Field Museum of Natural History) for most helpful observations, and to all those mentioned above for kindly presenting me with specimens.
REFERENCES
Anonymous (Compiled by the Amphibians and Reptiles Research Department of The Biological Research Institute of Sichuan Province)
1977 Systematic Keys to China's Amphibians. (In Chinese) Science Press, Beijing.
Pope, C. H.
1931 Notes on Amphibians from Fukien, Hainan, and Other Parts of China. Bull. Am. Mus. nat. Hist., Vol. 61, pp. 397-611.
Hong Kong, 8 February 1980
J. D. ROMER