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| Amolops huanglianshanensis Liu, Hou, Mo, Lu, Guo, Wang, Zhang, Rao & Li, 2024. |
Abstract
A new species of the Amolops monticola group is described from Yunnan Huanglianshan National Nature Reserve, southern Yunnan, China. Morphologically, the new species is characterized by a moderate body size (snout–vent length 38.3–40.8 mm in adult males and 62.3–63.1 mm in adult females), head being longer than wide, nostril to snout tip distance being slightly smaller than eye to nostril distance, the presence of pineal body, distinct tympanum, vomerine teeth being invisible in males and weak but visible in females, distinct dorsolateral folds, the absence of outer metatarsal tubercle, the presence of vocal sac and nuptial pad in adult males, dorsal surface of head and body being green with no or a few black dots, and the presence of a few large flat white tubercles on the posterior inferior flank. Genetically, the uncorrected genetic distance between the new species and other species of the A. monticola group ranged from 3.0% to 7.6% in 16S ribosomal RNA and from 7.2% to 17.1% in NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene sequences. Currently, the new species is known only from its type locality in Lvchun County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China.
Keywords: 16S, cascade frog, morphology, ND2, taxonomy
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| Amolops huanglianshanensis sp. nov. in life. Dorsolateral (A) and ventral (B) views of the male paratype (KIZ2023092), dorsolateral (C) and ventral (D) views of the male paratype (KIZ2023093), and dorsolateral (E) and ventral (F) views of the female paratype (KIZ2023098). |
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| Amolops huanglianshanensis sp. nov. in life. Dorsal (A), lateral (B), and ventral (C) views of the male holotype (KIZ2023094), and dorsal (D), lateral (E), and ventral (F) views of the female paratype (KIZ2023099) |
Amolops huanglianshanensis sp. nov.
Diagnosis. The new species is assigned to genus Amolops based on the presence of enlarged digital discs, circummarginal groove on the discs of fingers, well-developed webbing between toes, and the absence of webbing between fingers. It is further assigned to the A. monticola group based on having smooth skin, side of the head dark with a light-colored upper lip stripe extending to the axilla, and distinct dorsolateral folds. It can be distinguished from other species in the A. monticola group by having a combination of the following characters: Body size moderate, SVL 38.3–40.8 mm in adult males and 62.3–63.1 mm in adult females; head longer than wide; nostril to snout tip distance slightly smaller than eye to nostril distance; internarial distance greater than ...
Etymology. The specific epithet is named for the type locality Yunnan Huanglianshan National Nature Reserve. We suggest the English common name “Huanglianshan cascade frog” and the Chinese common name “黄连山湍蛙 (Pinyin: huáng lián shān tuān wā)”.
Shuo Liu, Mian Hou, Mingzhong Mo, Yi Lu, Jimin Guo, Wen Wang, Wenxiang Zhang, Dingqi Rao and Song Li. 2024. A New Species of the Amolops monticola group (Anura, Ranidae) from southern Yunnan, China. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. In Press.