Abstract
Due to small body sizes, superficial similarities in morphologies, and obscure activity behaviors, the phylogeny and taxonomy of species in the genus Liuixalus were very troublesome. Some species might comprise a complex of cryptic species. To investigate the species of group, we constructed the matrilineal genealogy of the genus using 16s rRNA mitochondrial DNA sequences. Analyses recovered six well supported matrilines that involved L. romeri, L. ocellatus, L. hainanus, L. calcarius, Liuixalus shiwandashan sp. nov. and Liuixalus jinxiuensis sp. nov., though the historical relationships among them remained unresolved. Currently, Liuixalus included 4 species, distributed eastwards from northern Vietnam to Hong Kong, China. Based on genealogical and morphological distinctiveness, we described Liuixalus jinxiuensis sp. nov. from the type locality Mt. Dayao, Jinxiu, China and Liuixalus shiwandashan sp. nov. from the type locality Mt. Shiwanda, China. A combination of morphological measurements, genetic, bioacoustic and osteological analysis was served to diagnose the new taxa.
Highlights
The genus Liuixalus was proposed in 2008 with type species L. romeri (Smith, 1953) based on its distinct molecular phylogenetic position [1], which was confirmed by Li et al [2] and Yu et al [3]
The results indicate the taxonomy of the genus Liuixalus more clearly and the necessity to describe two new species Liuixalus shiwandashan sp. nov. and Liuixalus jinxiuensis sp. nov
We described Liuixalus shiwandashan sp. nov. and Liuixalus jinxiuensis sp. nov. using morphological, genealogical, bioacoustic and osteological analyses
Summary
The genus Liuixalus was proposed in 2008 with type species L. romeri (Smith, 1953) based on its distinct molecular phylogenetic position [1], which was confirmed by Li et al [2] and Yu et al [3]. Liuixalus romeri was described from Hong Kong and found to occur in southern Guangxi. Thereafter, Nguyen et al [10] described the new species L. catbaensis from the same locality. Based on their similar morphologies, same distributions, and close publication dates, Frost (2015) suggested that L. catbaensis was a junior synonym of L. calcarius. Bioacoustic and osteological analyses enrich the species descriptions in critical ways
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