Re-description and dietary ecology of the Hylaranaannamitica (Sheridan & Stuart, 2018) (Amphibia: Ranidae) from central Vietnam.

Background: The Annam Stream Frog Hylaranaannamitica was recently discovered from north and central Vietnam and Laos by Sheridan and Stuart (2018). Knowledge of its natural history is virtually lacking.

New information: In this study, we provide an extended morphological description of Hylaranaannamitica, based on newly-collected specimens from Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam. In addition, we present data on the diet of Hylaranaannamitica, based on stomach content analyses of 46 individuals (32 males and 14 females) and compare prey selection between sexes. We found a total of 37 prey categories with 339 items, comprising 327 items of invertebrates, two items of vertebrates and 10 unidentified in the stomachs of H.annamitica. The most important (IRI) groups amongst the prey of H.annamitica were Coleoptera (17.19%), followed by Mantodea (14.78%), Orthoptera (11.26%), Lepidoptera (11.13%), Araneae (10.0%) and Blattodea (9.87%). There was an overlap of 45.63% in the diet between males and females and, in both sexes, the trophic spectrum was similar, predominantly consisting of Araneae, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Mantodea and Orthoptera.