A new species of Gracixalus (Anura, Rhacophoridae) from northwestern Vietnam

Abstract

A new species of small tree frog is described from northwestern Vietnam based on morphological differences and molecular divergence. Gracixalus truongisp. nov. is distinguishable from its congeners and other small rhacophorid species on the basis of a combination of the following characters: size relatively small, SVL 32.2–33.1 mm in males, 37.6–39.3 mm in females; head slightly wider than long; vomerine teeth absent; snout round and long RL/SVL 0.17–0.19 in males, 0.16–0.17 in females; spines on upper eyelid absent; supratympanic fold distinct; tympanum distinct; dorsal skin smooth; throat smooth and venter granular; tibiotarsal projection absent; webbing of fingers rudimentary, toes with moderately developed webbing; dorsum moss-green, with an inverse Y-shaped dark green marking extended from interorbital region to posterior region of dorsum; external vocal sac absent in males; males with a nuptial pad on finger I. In the molecular analyses, the new species has no clear sister taxon and is at least 4.5% divergent from other congeners based on a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene.

Integrative taxonomic analyses reveal first country records of Occidozyga shiwandashanensis Chen, Peng, Liu, Huang, Liao & Mo, 2022 and Hylarana latouchii (Boulenger, 1899) (Anura, Dicroglossidae, Ranidae) from Vietnam

“…The forests in the border region between China and Vietnam harbour a high level of herpetofaunal diversity with a remarkable number of new discoveries in particular from northern Vietnam in the last decade, viz. Gracixalus waza Nguyen, Le, Pham, Nguyen, Bonkowski and Ziegler, 2013; Odorrana mutschmanni Pham, Nguyen, Le, Bonkowski and Ziegler, 2016; Limnonectes quangninhensis Pham, Le, Nguyen, Ziegler, Wu and Nguyen, 2017; Gracixalus sapaensis Matsui, Ohler, Eto and Nguyen, 2017; Boulenophrys hoanglienensis (Tapley, Cutajar, Mahony, Nguyen, Dau, Luong, Le, Nguyen, Nguyen, Portway, Luong and Rowley, 2018); Zhangixalus franki Ninh, Nguyen, Orlov, Nguyen and Ziegler, 2020; Leptobrachella graminicola Nguyen, Tapley, Nguyen, Luong and Rowley, 2021; Theloderma khoii Ninh, Nguyen, Nguyen, Hoang, Siliyavong, Nguyen, Le, Le and Ziegler, 2022; Microhyla hmongorum Hoang, Nguyen, Phan, Pham, Ninh, Wang, Jiang, Ziegler and Nguyen, 2022; Gracixalus truongi Tran, Pham, Le, Nguyen, Ziegler and Pham, 2023 ( Frost 2023 , Nguyen et al 2013 , Pham et al 2016b , Pham et al 2017 , Matsui et al 2017 , Tapley et al 2018 , Ninh et al 2020 , Ninh et al 2022 , Nguyen et al 2021 , Hoang et al 2022 , Tran et al 2023 ). In the last ten years, several new species of amphibians have been described in the border region, viz.…”