Abstract
Two cryptic species, which were previously reported as Amolopsricketti, are revealed on the basis of significant morphological and genetic divergences. Amolopssinensissp. n. from central Guangdong, northeastern Guangxi and southwestern Hunan can be distinguished by the longitudinal glandular folds on the skin of the shoulders and other character combinations. Amolopsyatsenisp. n. from the coastal hills of west Guangdong can be distinguished by the dense tiny round translucent, or white, spines on the dorsal skin of the body, dorsal and dorsolateral skin of the limbs, and other character combinations. The phylogenetic interrelationships of the A.ricketti group have been inferred as (A.wuyiensis + A.ricketti) + (A.yunkaiensis + (A.albispinus + (A.sinensissp. n. + A.yatsenisp. n.))). This work indicates that the current records of A.ricketti might be a species complex composed of multiple species, and further work is needed to figure out this puzzle.
Highlights
The torrent frog genus Amolops Cope, 1865, which is comprised of 55 species, is widespread from the southern and eastern Himalayas, eastward to southeastern mainland China, and southward to Malay Peninsula (Frost 2018)
The phylogenetic trees strongly supported that the Amolops ricketti group was a monophyletic species group, which can be further divided into six well-supported clades with marked divergences (Fig. 2; Table 2)
We have found that the recorded population of A. ricketti from central Guangdong, northeastern Guangxi and southwestern Hunan and from coastal hills of west Guangdong, are markedly different from the topotype of A. ricketti from Fujian, both morphologically and genetically
Summary
The torrent frog genus Amolops Cope, 1865, which is comprised of 55 species, is widespread from the southern and eastern Himalayas, eastward to southeastern mainland China, and southward to Malay Peninsula (Frost 2018). The A. ricketti group is a monophyletic species group containing four recognized species from southeastern China (Fei et al 2012; Sung et al 2016; Lyu et al 2018): A. yunkaiensis Lyu, Wang, Liu, Zeng & Wang, 2018 from southwestern Guangdong, A. albispinus Sung, Wang & Wang, 2016 from Shenzhen City, Guangdong, A. wuyiensis (Liu & Hu, 1975) distributed in Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi in eastern China, and A. ricketti (Boulenger, 1899) reported to be widely distributed in Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in southern China and even to northern and central Indochina. Molecular analyses further well supported the morphological result, showing that these specimens formed two lineages within the A. ricketti group; in this study we describe them as two new species of genus Amolops
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