Published June 15, 2026 | Version v1

Consumption of the frog Hylarana nicobariensis Stoliczka, 1870 by a crab Parathelphusa pulcherrima (De Man, 1902), with a mini review of feeding on amphibians by crabs

  • 1. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore|Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 2. School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
  • 3. El Serpentario y C.E.M.A de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico|Department of Biology, La Sierra University, Riverside, United States of America|Department of Herpetology, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, United States of America
  • 4. School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

Description

We present a first record of feeding by the freshwater crab species, Parathelphusa pulcherrima on the frog species Hylarana nicobariensis (Ranidae) from Sabah (Borneo, Malaysia) together with a comprehensive review of crab predation on amphibians. A total of 32 crab species identifiable to 27 genera have been recorded to prey on frogs from at least 42 species in 35 genera, representing 21 families and one species of salamander to-date. The majority of the predation accounts were from the Neotropics and Afrotropics subcontinent.

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