Phylogenetic Systematics of the Amolops monticola Group (Amphibia: Ranidae), with Description of a New Species from Northwestern Laos

Stuart, Bryan L.; Bain, Raoul H.; Phimmachak, Somphouthone; Spence, Kelly

doi:10.1655/08-073.1

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…One additional species, namely Amolops daorum, was described from Vietnam by Bain et al (2003) prior to the species list by Nguyen et al (2009) but was considered a junior synonym of A. mengyangensis by Ohler (2007). However, this hypothesis was rejected by Stuart et al (2010), leading to the inclusion of Amolops daorum in the amphibian species list of Vietnam presented in this study. Additionally, 34 new country records for Vietnam (Suppl.…”

Section: Amphibian Diversitymentioning

confidence: 85%

Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

Krzikowski¹,

Truong²,

Pham³

et al. 2022

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The current decline in global biodiversity is most evident in amphibians with 41% percent of all species worldwide classified as threatened with extinction. Hence, a major challenge in amphibian conservation is the high number of threatened species, leading to a common approach of identifying priority species and regions for conservation efforts. As a part of one of 36 globally designated biodiversity hotspots, Vietnam is considered to be of particular importance for conservation action. To improve amphibian conservation in Vietnam, this study provides an updated species list and assesses their threat status by compiling data from a variety of sources. Furthermore, a Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) analysis was conducted to determine the representation of extant amphibians from Vietnam in zoos worldwide. The batrachofauna of Vietnam is characterized by a high level of species richness and local endemism as well as a high rate of new discoveries, with more than half of the endemic species reported exclusively from their type locality, making them especially vulnerable to extinction. Up to 18% of all amphibians extant in Vietnam and 28% of endemic species are classified as threatened with extinction by the IUCN. In many cases, the IUCN Red List status is either missing or outdated, highlighting the urgent need of action. Around 14% of endemic amphibian species have been recorded exclusively from unprotected areas, suggesting prioritization for further research and conservation measures. The continuing decline in many species remains an unresolved problem. As a guide for future research and conservation measures, a list of the top 57 species was compiled. In addition, according to the ZIMS analysis, only 8% of threatened and 3% of endemic amphibian taxa from Vietnam are currently kept in zoos worldwide, and a richness analysis revealed that the highest density of husbandries is found in Europe and North America. To achieve maximum outcome for the conservation of threatened species, this study recommends a general shift by zoos towards maintaining species in greater need of captive assurance populations and breeding programs to support integrative strategies that combine in situ and ex situ conservation efforts following the IUCN’s One Plan Approach.

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Section: Amphibian Diversitymentioning

confidence: 85%

Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

Krzikowski¹,

Truong²,

Pham³

et al. 2022

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“…The name A. monticola has commonly been used to refer to Amolops that have dorsolateral ridges (e.g. Stuart et al, 2010) but many individuals of A. cf. gerbillus can possess weak dorsolateral ridges, and thus the confusion may arise.…”

Section: Review Of Amolops Reports From Bhutanmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of torrent frogs ([i]Amolops[/i]: Ranidae) from Bhutan, the description of a new species, and reassessment of the taxonomic validity of some [i]A. viridimaculatus[/i] group species aided by archival DNA sequences of century-old type specimens

Mahony¹

2022

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Seven species of the Asian torrent frogs (genus Amolops) have previously been reported from the eastern Himalayan country of Bhutan. Species identifications from the region have been largely based on photographed animals with few voucher specimens available and no molecular sampling. Understanding the taxonomic status of Bhutan’s torrent frogs has also been hampered by the poorly understood distributional limits of species from surrounding regions. Herein we utilised molecular phylogenetic and morphological data for vouchered specimens from Bhutan and provide a complete literature review of all Amolops populations reported from the country. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated by combining available sequence data (from GenBank) with newly generated sequences from recently collected Bhutanese Amolops populations. We also obtained archival DNA sequences from the type specimens of Amolops formosus, A. himalayanus, and A. kaulbacki, collected between 82 and 151 years ago. Our comparative analyses revealed a large, new (to science) species of the Amolops viridimaculatus group from eastern Bhutan. Morphological examinations of related taxa revealed that A. senchalensis from India is not a synonym of A. marmoratus. Molecular phylogenetic results supplemented by morphological data unambiguously demonstrate i) that A. himalayanus is present in eastern Nepal, ii) the presence of a previously undocumented population of A. nepalicus in eastern Nepal, iii) a 200 km range extention for A. kaulbacki into Yunnan, China, iv) that A. gyirongensis should be considered a junior subjective synonym of A. formosus, and v) that A. splendissimus from Vietnam should be considered a junior subjective synonym of A. viridimaculatus. Based on our results, we expand the Amolops viridimaculatus group to include nine species, including A. formosus, A. himalayanus, A. kaulbacki, and the new species described herein. We provisionally include a further three species in the viridimaculatus group based on morphology, A. longimanus, A. nidorbellus, and A. senchalensis. Combining our data with the literature review allowed us to identify several unidentified Amolops species from recent phylogenetic studies and remove nine frog species (including Hyla, Sylvirana, and seven Amolops species) from Bhutan’s amphibian checklist. We recognise four species of Amolops in Bhutan, three of which cannot be confidently identified to the species level based on currently available data. Keywords: Anura, taxonomy, Himalayas, conservation, vouchered-specimens

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“…As recently as only one decade ago, the amphibian fauna of Laos was poorly known and an old reference by Bourret (1942) remained the major source of information. However, subsequent intensive surveys in the country have resulted in the discovery of many new species and new locality records in various amphibian lineages (e.g., Stuart and Heatwole, 2004;Stuart, 2005;Stuart and Bain, 2005;Stuart and Chan-ard, 2005;Rowley et al, 2010;Stuart et al, 2010a, b;2012), although the diversity of vast areas in the country still remains imperfectly studied. Of Leptobrachium, Ohler et al (2004) described L. buchardi from southern Laos based on a single female specimen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A NewLeptobrachium(Vibrissaphora) from Laos (Anura: Megophryidae)

Matsui

2013

Current Herpetology

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A new species of the subgenus Vibrissaphora in the genus Leptobrachium is described from eastern Laos, on the basis of molecular and morphological evidence. The new species differs from all members of the subgenus by lack of spines on upper lip, small size with adult male SVL of 55.2 mm, indistinct tympanum, first finger longer than fourth, inner metatarsal tubercle smaller than first toe, 2 phalanges of fifth toe unwebbed, dorsum nearly smooth and flanks with densely granulated skin, dorsum light brown with dark brown spots, flanks dark brown reticulated with cream spots, and abdomen cream with irregular brown markings. Classification of two subgenera in Leptobrachium is discussed.

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Phylogenetic Systematics of the Amolops monticola Group (Amphibia: Ranidae), with Description of a New Species from Northwestern Laos

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

A review of torrent frogs ([i]Amolops[/i]: Ranidae) from Bhutan, the description of a new species, and reassessment of the taxonomic validity of some [i]A. viridimaculatus[/i] group species aided by archival DNA sequences of century-old type specimens

A NewLeptobrachium(Vibrissaphora) from Laos (Anura: Megophryidae)

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Phylogenetic Systematics of the Amolops monticola Group (Amphibia: Ranidae), with Description of a New Species from Northwestern Laos

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

﻿Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

﻿Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

A review of torrent frogs ([i]Amolops[/i]: Ranidae) from Bhutan, the description of a new species, and reassessment of the taxonomic validity of some [i]A. viridimaculatus[/i] group species aided by archival DNA sequences of century-old type specimens

A NewLeptobrachium(Vibrissaphora) from Laos (Anura: Megophryidae)

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Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach

Assessment of the threat status of the amphibians in Vietnam - Implementation of the One Plan Approach