Abstract
A new species of the genus Liurana Dubois, 1986 is described from Medog County, Tibet, China, based on morphological and molecular data. The new species can be differentiated from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) head wider than long; (2) tympanum distinct and large; (3) hindlimb long, tibiotarsal articulation beyond tip of snout when adpressed; (4) belly with flat tubercles, cloacal region with small tubercles; (5) transverse bands distinctly on dorsal limbs, four bands on thigh and three on tibia; and, (6) dark brown marbled patterns or speckles on white belly. Here, we also discuss the distribution pattern of Liurana in the East Himalaya region, the role of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the speciation and genetic isolation of congeners, the direct developmental mode of reproduction, and the two different ecotypes of the genus. Lastly, we provide conservation recommendations for the genus in southeastern Tibet.
Highlights
As a wide-spread amphibian family in Southeast Asia, species of the family Ceratobatrachidae are distributed from the southern foothills of the Himalaya to the tropics of Southeast Asia (Yan et al, 2016)
The unidentified specimens of Liurana were morphologically most similar to L. medogensis and could be differentiated from all recognized species by having a relatively wider head (HW/HL >100% vs.
Coloration and ornamentation were highly variable among the examined specimens of L. alpina and L. xizangensis, ranging from uniform bright orange reddish to brownish gray with blackish speckles (Figure 3)
Summary
As a wide-spread amphibian family in Southeast Asia, species of the family Ceratobatrachidae are distributed from the southern foothills of the Himalaya to the tropics of Southeast Asia (Yan et al, 2016). Members of the family are characterized as tropical specialists, with many species undergoing direct development without reliance on standing water bodies for breeding (Brown & Alcala, 1982; Brown et al, 2015) Within this family, frogs of the genus Liurana represent an understudied yet fascinating endemic group from the East Himalaya region. First considered as a subgenus of Ingerana by Dubois (1986), Liurana was established based on the type species Cornufer xizangensis Hu, 1987, with the subgenus later elevated to full genus based on morphological evidence (Fei et al, 1997) This taxonomic elevation is supported by recent phylogenetic studies, where Liurana was recovered as a distinct monophyletic clade from Ingerana, Platymantis, and Cornufer (Yan et al, 2016). Three species have been recognized in the genus to date, including L. alpina Huang, Ye, 1997, L. medogensis Fei, Ye, Huang, 1997, and L. xizangensis (Hu, 1987)
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