A new species of the Asian leaf litter toad genus Leptobrachella (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae) from southwest China.

Shi-Ze Li,Bin Wang,Jing Liu,Gang Wei

doi:10.3897/zookeys.943.51572

Abstract

A new species of the Asian leaf litter toad genus Leptobrachella from Guizhou Province, China is described based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, morphological comparisons, and bioacoustics data. Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences supported the new species as an independent clade nested into the Leptobrachella clade and sister to L. bijie. The new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: small body size (SVL 30.8–33.4 mm in seven adult males, and 34.2 mm in one adult female); dorsal skin shagreened, some of the granules forming longitudinal short skin ridges; tympanum distinctly discernible, slightly concave; internasal distance longer than interorbital distance; supra-axillary, femoral, pectoral and ventrolateral glands distinctly visible; absence of webbing and lateral fringes on fingers; toes with rudimentary webbing and shallow lateral fringes, relative finger lengths II < IV < I < III; heels overlapped when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; and tibia-tarsal articulation reaches the tympanum.

Highlights

The Asian leaf litter toads of the genus Leptobrachella Smith, 1925 (Anura, Megophryidae) are widely distributed from southern China west to northeastern India and Myanmar, through mainland Indochina to peninsular Malaysia and the island of Borneo (Frost 2020)
Morphological comparisons, and bioacoustics comparisons consistently indicated these specimens as an undescribed species of Leptobrachella
Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses based on the 16S matrix resulted in essentially identical topologies (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

The Asian leaf litter toads of the genus Leptobrachella Smith, 1925 (Anura, Megophryidae) are widely distributed from southern China west to northeastern India and Myanmar, through mainland Indochina to peninsular Malaysia and the island of Borneo (Frost 2020). Many species in this genus had been ever classified into Leptolalax Dubois, 1983 (e.g., Fei et al 2009, 2012), and Chen et al (2018) placed Leptolalax as a junior synonym of Leptobrachella based on large-scale molecular analyses.

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Conclusion