A new limestone-dwelling species of Micryletta (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) from northern Vietnam.

Nikolay A Poyarkov,Tan Van Nguyen,Jian-Huan Yang,Tang Van Duong,Vladislav A Gorin

doi:10.7717/peerj.5771

Nikolay A Poyarkov, Tan Van Nguyen + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5771

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Journal: PeerJ	Publication Date: Oct 4, 2018
Citations: 21	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Duy Tan University

Abstract

We report on a new species of the genus Micryletta from limestone karst areas in northern Vietnam, which is described on the basis of molecular and morphological evidence. Micryletta nigromaculata sp. nov. is restricted to narrow areas of subtropical forests covering karst massifs in Cat Ba National Park (Hai Phong Province) and Cuc Phuong National Park (Ninh Binh Province) at elevations of 90–150 m a.s.l. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species is unambiguously positioned as a sister lineage to all remaining species of Micryletta. We also discuss genealogical relationships and taxonomic problems within the genus Micryletta, provide molecular evidence for the validity of M. erythropoda and discuss the taxonomic status of M. steinegeri. We suggest the new species should be considered as Endangered (B1ab(iii), EN) following the IUCN’s Red List categories. A discussion on herpetofaunal diversity and conservation in threatened limestone karst massifs in Southeast Asia is provided.

Highlights

Paddy frogs of the genus Micryletta Dubois, 1987 are a little-known group of microhylids that occurs from southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indochina and Myanmar to Nicobar and theMark D
The electronic version of this article in Portable Document Format (PDF) will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and the new names contained in the electronic version are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone
Limestone karst areas are recognized as arks of highly endangered though still insufficiently studied biodiversity

Summary

Introduction

Paddy frogs of the genus Micryletta Dubois, 1987 are a little-known group of microhylids that occurs from southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indochina and Myanmar to Nicobar and theMark D. Paddy frogs of the genus Micryletta Dubois, 1987 are a little-known group of microhylids that occurs from southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indochina and Myanmar to Nicobar and the. Scherz 3/9/2018 09:18 Comment [1]: The introduction provides a nice overview and is of a good length. Comprehension might be facilitated by adding a figure depicting the different configurations for the genus and subfamily proposed by different authors, but this is just a suggestion. Scherz 2/9/2018 16:44 Deleted: , Mark D.

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