A new species of the genus Leptolalax (Anura: Megophryidae) from Mt. Gaoligongshan of western Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

A new species of the genus Leptolalax is described from the Tengchong Section of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, China. The new species, Leptolalax tengchongensis sp. nov., can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: (1) small size (SVL 23.9–26.0 mm in males, 28.8–28.9 mm in females); (2) dorsal skin shagreened and scattered with fine, round reddish tubercles; (3) toes with rudimentary webbing and narrow lateral fringes; (4) tympanum distinctly discernible, almost entirely black; (5) ventrolateral glands indistinct; (6) flanks with several distinct and large dark blotches; (7) ventral surfaces white, scattered with distinct irregular dark speckling; (8) iris not bicolored, uniformly dark brown and scattered with minute, coppery reticulations throughout. To date, the new species has only been found at its type locality in evergreen broadleaf forests at elevations between 2000–2100 m.

Description of a new species of Hoolock gibbon (Primates: Hylobatidae) based on integrative taxonomy

“…Mt. Gaoligong, situated along the border of China and Myanmar, is a hotspot of new species discovery, with recent discoveries including other species of primates (Geissmann et al, ), as well as other vertebrates, for example, amphibians (Yang, Wang, & Chan, ; Yang, Wang, Chen, & Rao, ). This high discovery rate at least partly reflects the fact that these mountains have been difficult to access in the past, so that few expeditions have been carried out, and subsequently most animal groups have never been studied in detail.…”

Morphology and molecular genetics reveal two new Leptobrachella species in southern China (Anura, Megophryidae)

“…Their results also rejected the hypothesis that Leptolalax consists of two subgenera as proposed by Delorme et al (2006) and Dubois et al (2010). At present, the genus Leptobrachella contains sixty-six species, widely distributed from southern China west to northeastern India and Myanmar, through mainland Indochina to peninsular Malaysia and the island of Borneo (Frost 2017; Nguyen et al 2018; Rowley et al 2016, 2017; Yang et al 2016; Yuan et al 2017). They are commonly known as Asian leaf litter frogs.…”

“…With the evidence of both morphological and phylogenetic analyses, 15 cryptic species of the genus Leptobrachella have been discovered and described since 2010 (Frost 2017; Rowley et al 2016, 2017; Yang et al 2016; Yuan et al 2017). With the description of L.yunkaiensis sp.…”

“…Comparative morphological data of Leptobrachella species were obtained from examination of museum specimens (see Appendix 1) and from the references listed in Table 2. Due to the high likelihood of undiagnosed diversity within the genus (Rowley et al 2016; Yang et al 2016), where available, we relied on examination of topotypic material and/or original species descriptions.…”

“…They are commonly known as Asian leaf litter frogs. Currently, eleven species of this genus are known from China, i.e., L.alpinus from Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, L.laui from southern Guangdong including Hong Kong, L.liui from Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, L.oshanensis from Gansu, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Hubei provinces, L.cf.pelodytoides (which may represents a undescribed taxon), L.purpura , L.tengchongensis , L.ventripuntatus , and L.yingjiangensis from Yunnan Province, and L.sungi and L.maoershanensis from Guangxi Province (Sung et al 2014; Yang et al 2016; Yuan et al 2017; Yang et al 2018). …”