No abstract

The taxonomy of Babina sensu lato was controversial in the past decades. In this study, the phylogeny of genus Babina sensu lato was re-constructed based on genetic analysis, morphological comparison and advertisement call analysis. We found that Babina sensu stricto and previous subgenus Nidirana should be two distinct genera in the family Ranidae. N. caldwelli is confirmed to be a synonym of N. adenopleura because of the small genetic divergence and the lack of distinct morphological differences. A new species, Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov. is described based on a series of specimens collected from Mt. Nankun, Guangdong Province, China, which can be distinguished from other known congeners by having a behavior of nest construction, distinctive advertisement calls, significant divergence in the mitochondrial genes, and a combination of morphological characters. Currently, the genus Babina contains two species and the genus Nidirana contains eight species.

A new species of Music frogs, Nidiranayaoicasp. nov. is described based on a series of adult male specimens collected from Mt Dayao, Guangxi, southern China, providing valuable new information on the phylogeny, bioacoustics, and biogeography of related species within the genus Nidirana. The new species forms the sister taxon to N.daunchina from western China and together the sister taxon to N.chapaensis from northern Vietnam. Nidiranayaoicasp. nov. can be distinguished from all known congeners by a significant genetic divergence in the mitochondrial 16S and CO1 genes, the advertisement call containing 1–3 rapidly repeated regular notes, and the combination of morphological characteristics including a medium-sized body with SVL 40.4–45.9 mm in adult males; lateroventral grooves on every digit, not meeting at the tip of disk; tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the nostril; the presence of a pair of subgular vocal sacs in males; and one single developed nuptial pad on dorsal surface of first finger in males.

The diversity of the subgenus Panophrys within the genus Megophrys has been revealed to be extremely underestimated from southeastern China. Herpetological surveys coupled with extensive sampling in a longitudinal mountain belt located in southeastern China resulted in the discoveries of six new species of the subgenus Panophrys. Furthermore, the new discoveries support the findings of “micro-endemism”, “sympatric phenomenon” and “sympatric but distant phylogenetically” which appear to be common among Panophrys species, and also indicates that the Asian horned toads would be good candidates for studies on speciation and biogeography, and additionally emphasizes the conservation difficulties of these toads.

A definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group is presented in this study, on the basis of morphological and phylogenetic analyses based on a series of additional specimens. Moreover, a new species of this group, Goniurosaurus variussp. nov., is proposed for northern Guangdong Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from the other two congeners of this group by the following unique characters: one or two internasals; enlarged supraorbital tubercles absent; paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 27–29; dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 21–24; ten precloacal pores in males and absent in females; body bands with black spots; iris orange-red.