New records of the anomaly P syndrome in two water frog species (Pelophylax ridibundus and P. lessonae) in Russia

Abstract

The “anomaly P” was described in Palearctic water frogs of the genus Pelophylax by Jean Rostand as complex morphological anomalies of water frogs, including polydactyly, brachymely, hind limb oedema, bone outgrowths, spikes, flexions and additional limbs in the inguinal region. In 2016, the anomaly P syndrome was rediscovered in central Russia, confirming the hypothesis concerning its wider distribution. Here, three new records of this syndrome in two species of western Palearctic water frog from Russia are described.