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| Rhacophorus qiongica |
Abstract
Taxonomy and species boundaries within the Rhacophorus rhodopus and Rhacophorus bipunctatus complexes are very confusing. In this study, we attempt to delimit the species boundaries and test the currently accepted taxonomic assignments within these two complexes based on newly collected samples and previously published data across their distributions. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the R. rhodopus and R. bipunctatus complexes consisted of six distinct clades (labeled A‒F) that diverged from each other by genetic distances (p-distance) ranging from 5.3% to 9.2% in 16S rRNA sequences, and accordingly analyses of species delimitation placed them into six species, of which three correspond to known species (R. rhodopus, R. bipunctatus, and R. napoensis) and three represent different cryptic species. Rhacophorus rhodopus (Clade C) is distributed in southern Yunnan, China, northern Laos, and northern and central Thailand; R. bipunctatus (Clade F) is distributed in northeastern India and western and northern Myanmar; and R. napoensis (Clade B) is distributed in Guangxi, China and northern Vietnam. Based on both molecular and morphological evidence, we described the clade consisting of samples from Hainan, China and central Vietnam (Clade A) as a new species, Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov. There are two cryptic species requiring additional morphological studies: one only contains samples from Motuo, Xizang, China (Clade E), and the other is distributed in western Yunnan, China, central Myanmar, central Thailand, and Malaysia (Clade D). Additionally, our results supported the idea that some old GenBank sequences of R. reinwardtii need to be updated with the correct species name.
Key Words: Cryptic species, Hainan, Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov., Species complex, Species delimitation
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| Lateral, dorsal, and ventral views of the holotype of Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov. (GXNU YU000691) in life. Habitat at the type locality. |
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| Lateral, dorsal, and ventral views of the holotype of Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov. (GXNU YU000691) in life. |
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| Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov. Dorsal view of paratypes GXNU YU000696 (a) and GXNU YU000698 (b) in life. |
Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific name qiongica is derived from Qiong (琼), referring to Hainan, China, and meaning good and beautiful in Chinese. The specific name means that this species is very beautiful, and in China, it is distributed in Hainan. We suggest the English common name “Hainan Flying Frog” and the Chinese common name “琼树蛙 (Qióng Shù Wā)”.
Diagnosis: The new species is assigned to Rhacophorus by the presence of intercalary cartilage between terminal and penultimate phalanges of digits, terminal phalanges of fingers and toes Y-shaped, the tip of the digits expanded into disks with circummarginal grooves, fingers webbed, tarsal projections present, dermal folds along the forearm and tarsus present, and a horizontal pupil (Jiang et al. 2019). Rhacophorus qiongica sp. nov. differs from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: 1) medium body size (adult males SVL 35.1‒38.2 mm); 2) dorsal surface red brown; 3) entire web between fingers and toes; 4) webbing between toes purely scarlet; 5) small black blotches on flank; 6) bands on limbs distinct; 7) throat smooth; 8) absence of dermal appendage on snout tip; 9) absence of small black spots on head sides; 10) palm smooth without small tubercles; and 11) tibiotarsal articulation reaching beyond eye.
Shangjing Tang, Fanrong Xiao, Shuo Liu, Lijun Wang, Guohua Yu and Lina Du. 2024. Underestimated Species Diversity within the Rhacophorus rhodopus and Rhacophorus bipunctatus complexes (Anura, Rhacophoridae), with A Description of A New Species from Hainan, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution. 100(2): 625-643. DOI: 10.3897/zse.100.118879
