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| Nidirana nankunensis
Lyu, Zeng, Wang, Lin, Liu & Wang, 2017
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The taxonomy of Babina sensu lato was controversial in the past decades. In this study, the phylogeny of genus Babina sensu lato was re-constructed based on genetic analysis, morphological comparison and advertisement call analysis. We found that Babina sensu stricto and previous subgenus Nidirana should be two distinct genera in the family Ranidae. N. caldwelli is confirmed to be a synonym of N. adenopleura because of the small genetic divergence and the lack of distinct morphological differences. A new species, Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov. is described based on a series of specimens collected from Mt. Nankun, Guangdong Province, China, which can be distinguished from other known congeners by having a behavior of nest construction, distinctive advertisement calls, significant divergence in the mitochondrial genes, and a combination of morphological characters. Currently, the genus Babina contains two species and the genus Nidirana contains eight species.
Keywords: Babina, bioacoustic, mitochondrial DNA, morphology, Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov., phylogeny.
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| Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov., the holotype (SYS a005719) in the wild. |
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| Figure 4. the adult male holotype SYS a005719 of Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov. in life. (A) dorsolateral view; (B) ventral view Figure 5. Paratypes of Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov. (A) adult female paratype SYS a005717; (B) adult male paratype SYS a004905. |
Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov.
Etymology. The specific name “nankunensis”refers to the type locality of the new species, the Mt. Nankun. We suggest its English common name “Mt. Nankun Music Frog” and Chinese name “Nan Kun Shan Qin Wa”.
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| Figure 4. Morphological features of the adult male holotype SYS a005719 of Nidirana nankunensis sp. nov. in life. (A) dorsolateral view; (B) ventral view; (C) right hand; (D) nuptial pad; (E) right foot; (F) posterior part of dorsal surface. |
Zhi-Tong Lyu, Zhao-Chi Zeng, Jian Wang, Chao-Yu Lin, Zu-Yao Liu and Ying-Yong Wang. 2017. Resurrection of Genus Nidirana (Anura: Ranidae) and synonymizing N. caldwelli with N. adenopleura, with Description of A New Species from China. Amphibia-Reptilia. DOI: 10.1163/15685381-00003130
