ABSTRACT. As a proven tool, DNA barcoding can identify species rapidly and unambiguously. In this study, we used mtDNA cyt b, COI, and 16s rRNA sequences of six species of Pseudohynobius, Protohynobius puxiongensis, Liua shihi, Ranodon sibiricus, and Pachyhynobius shangchengensis, to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. Approximate lineage divergence times were also estimated, the divergence between them was calculated to have taken place mainly in Miocene. Our results showed that: 1) Ps. guizhouensis is an independent and valid species that is a sister species to Ps. kuankuoshuiensis; 2) five Pseudohynobius species formed a monophyletic group; 3) Ps. tsinpaensis is different from L. shihi, and should be classified as belonging to the Liua genus; and 4) Pr. puxiongensis is the sister lineage to all Pseudohynobius species, and should therefore be named Pseudohynobius puxiongensis.

ABSTRACT. The genetic diversity and historical demography of the narrow-range endemic Alpine toad, Scutiger liupanensis, in the Liupanshan National Forest Park of central China were estimated using cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) from 85 individuals from five local populations. Both the haplotype diversity (H d ) and the nucleotide diversity (P i ) were very high. Phylogenetic analysis of the 63 haplotypes revealed two major clades, and an analysis of molecular variance attributed most of the variation to within populations. Mantel tests did not reveal an isolation by distance pattern of genetic divergence between populations, and SAMOVA showed no phylogeographic structure. The results of neutrality tests, 4865-4878 (2015) mismatch distribution analyses, and allelic frequency spectra suggest that a sudden demographic expansion occurred, and that high genetic variation is beneficial to the survival and development of this species.

ABSTRACT. The evolutionary significant units (ESUs) of the salamander Pachyhynobius shangchengensis (Hynobiidae) in the Dabieshan mountains, southeastern China, were identified based on mitochondrial DNA data. We used methods for detecting cryptic species, such as the minimum spanning tree, the automatic barcode gap discovery, and the generalized mixed Yule-coalescent model; geographical partitioning was also used to identify the ESUs. A total of four ESUs were identified.