Leptobrachella shimentaina J. Wang, Z.-T. Lyu & Y.-Y. Wang, 2022

Wang, Jian, Qi, Shuo, Dai, Ke-Yuan, Lyu, Zhi-Tong, Zeng, Zhao-Chi, Chen, Hong-Hui, Li, Yuan-Qiu, Zhao, Yong-You, Wang, Yun-Ze & Wang, Ying-Yong, 2022, A new Leptobrachella species (Anura, Megophryidae) from South China, with comments on the taxonomic status of L. chishuiensis and L. purpurus, Zoosystematics and Evolution 98 (1), pp. 165-180 : 165

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zse.98.73162
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EE314DBE-4650-4C50-B1D2-953FDD47F876
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CF6EEF64-F539-415B-AD11-FA19C56BC3D5
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:CF6EEF64-F539-415B-AD11-FA19C56BC3D5
treatment provided by	Zoosystematics and Evolution by Pensoft
scientific name	Leptobrachella shimentaina J. Wang, Z.-T. Lyu & Y.-Y. Wang
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Leptobrachella shimentaina J. Wang, Z.-T. Lyu & Y.-Y. Wang sp. nov.

Shimentai Leaf Litter Toad (in English) / Shi Men Tai Zhang Tu Chan (石门台掌突蟾in Chinese) Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6

Chresonymy.

" Leptolalax sp.6" ( Chen et al. 2018).

Type material.

Holotype ♂. SYS a007684, from Jiuzhou Yizhan (24°23'38.01"N, 113°06'35.38"E; ca. 300 m a.s.l.), Shimentai Nature Reserve, Yingde City, Guangdong Province, China, collected by Jian Wang and Yong-You Zhao on 23 April 2019.

Paratypes (n = 7). 5 ♂: SYS a007683/ CIB116079, same collection place as holotype; SYS a007685-7686, collected by Yu-Long Li and Hong-Hui Chen on 23 April 2019 from Shijiao (24°26'35.31"N, 113°09'21.55"E; ca 400 m a.s.l.), Shimentai Nature Reserve; SYS a007687, collected by Jian Wang and Yong-You Zhao on 24 April 2019 from Longtankeng (24°26'31.38"N, 113°15'28.81"E; ca 310 m a.s.l.), Shimentai Nature Reserve; SYS a008329, collected by Jian Wang on 27 April 2020 from Luokeng Nature Reserve (24°31'42.3"N, 113°15'54.3"E; ca 590 m a.s.l.), Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China. 2 ♀: SYS a004711-4712, collected by Ying-Yong Wang, Jian Wang, and Zhi-Tong Lyu on 27 April 2016 from Hengshitang (24°26'14.92"N, 113°17'50.48"E; ca 380 m a.s.l.), Shimentai Nature Reserve.

Etymology.

The specific epithet " shimentaina " is an adjective derived from “shimentai”, referring to the type locality of the new species, Shimentai Nature Reserve, " ina " is used as a feminine suffix which indicates the relationship of position.

Diagnosis.

(1) small body size [SVL 26.4-28.9 mm in six adult males, SVL 30.1 and 30.7 mm in two adult females], (2) iris bicolored, upper half coppery orange and lower half silver, (3) tympanum distinct, (4) supratympanic line black, (5) fingers unwebbed, with distinct lateral fringes in males [absence in females], (6) toes with rudimentary webbing, lateral fringes wide in males [narrow in females], (7) longitudinal ridges under toes continuous, with constrictions at interphalangeal articulations, (8) heels slightly overlapping when adpressed, tibial-tarsal articulation reaching mid-orbit, (9) relative lengths of fingers I = II = IV <III, and toe I <II <III = V <IV, (10) dorsal surface shagreened and granular, lacking enlarged warts, with some granules forming short longitudinal folds, (11) dorsum grayish brown to yellowish brown, with small light orange granules and distinct darker brown scattered markings with irregular light orange pigmentation, (12) flanks with several dark spots, (13) ventral surface grayish pink, with distinct hazy brown speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks, (14) densely-distributed, small, raised pectoral and abdominal tubercles present; (15) dorsal surfaces of forelimbs and digits with dark transverse bars.

Description of holotype.

Adult male. Body size small, SVL in 28.6 mm. Head length slightly larger than head width, HDW/HDL 0.91; snout slightly protruding, projecting slightly beyond margin of lower jaw; nostril closer to snout than eye; canthus rostralis gently rounded; loreal region slightly concave; interorbital space flat, internarial distance larger than interorbital distance, IND/IOD 1.10; pineal ocellus absent; pupil vertical; snout longer than eye diameter, SNT/EYE 1.19; tympanum distinct, rounded, diameter smaller than that of eye and larger than tympanum-eye distance, TMP/EYE 0.41, TEY/TMP 0.48; upper margin of tympanum in contact with supratympanic ridge; vomerine teeth absent; a single vocal sac; vocal sac openings slit-like, paired, located posterolaterally on floor of mouth, close to margins of mandible; tongue deeply notched posteriorly; supratympanic ridge distinct, extending from posterior corner of eye to supra-axillary gland.

Tips of fingers rounded, slightly swollen; relative finger lengths I = II = IV <III; nuptial pad absent; subarticular tubercles absent; inner palmar tubercle large, rounded, distinctly separated from outer palmar tubercle; outer palmar tubercle small, rounded; fingers lacking interdigital webbing, with distinct lateral fringes. Tips of toes rounded, slightly swollen; relative toe length I <II <III = V <IV; longitudinal ridges under toes continuous, with constrictions at interphalangeal articulations; inner metatarsal tubercle large, oval; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; interdigital webbing between toes rudimentary; wide lateral fringes present on all toes. Tibia 47% of snout-vent length; tibiotarsal articulation reaches to middle of eye; heels slightly overlapping when thighs are appressed at right angles with respect to body.

Dorsal surface shagreened and granular, lacking enlarged tubercles or warts, some granules forming short longitudinal folds; ventral skin smooth, densely-distributed small raised scapular and abdominal tubercles present; pectoral and femoral glands oval; both larger in diameter than tip of fingers; femoral glands larger in diameter than tip of toes; femoral gland situated on posteroventral surface of thigh, closer to knee than to vent; supra-axillary gland raised. Ventrolateral gland distinctly visible, forming an longitudinal uncontinuous series.

Coloration of holotype in life.

Dorsal background color yellowish-brown, with small orange granules, distinct dark brown markings, and rounded spots, and scattered with irregular light grayish-brown pigmentation. A dark brown inverted triangular marking present between anterior corners of eyes, connecting to dark brown W-shaped marking in interorbital region. This W-shaped marking is in connection to the other W-shaped marking on occipital region. Tympanum dark brown, lower margin grayish yellow. Supratympanic line black. Dorsal surfaces of body and limbs with small orange granules; a pair of dark brown vertical bars present under eyes; transverse dark brown bars on dorsal surfaces of distal limbs and digits; distinct dark brown blotches on flanks; surfaces of elbows and upper arms coppery orange, without dark bars.

Surface of throat, chest, and belly grayish pink, with distinct hazy brown speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks, without black spots; surface of chin and lower lip brown with grayish white spots and patches; ventral surface of limbs brown with pink hues. Supra-axillary gland coppery orange, pectoral glands grayish white, femoral glands coppery orange, ventrolateral glands brown. Iris bicolored, upper half coppery orange, lower half silver.

Coloration of holotype in preservative

(Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ). Dorsal background color grayish brown, scattered with irregular light grayish-brown pigmentation. All markings, bars and spots become more distinct. Tympanum dark brown, lower margin gray.

Ventral surface yellowish brown; speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks become more distinct; ventral surface of limbs dark brown. Supra-axillary, pectoral, and ventrolateral glands greyish yellow.

Variation.

Measurements and body proportions are listed in Table 2 View Table 2 . All male paratypes from Shimentai Nature Reserve (SYS a007683/ CIB116079, SYS a007685 (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 ), 7686 (Fig. 5C View Figure 5 ), 7687) show very similar morphological characters to holotype SYS a007684; paratype SYS a008329 (Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ) from Luokeng Nature Reserve shows a darker coloration on dorsum, and brighter coloration on ventrum. Moreover, female paratypes, SYS a004711 (Fig. 5A View Figure 5 ) and SYS a004712 show lighter background coloration and more obvious dark brown marking orange tubercles on back.

Distribution and ecology.

Leptobrachella shimentaina sp. nov. is known from its type locality Shimentai Nature Reserve, Yingde City, and the adjacent Luokeng Nature Reserve, Shaoguan City, Guangdong, China (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ; ca. 300-600 m a.s.l.). In the Hengshitang Protection Station of the Shimentai Nature Reserve, the new species is sympatric with L. mangshanensis . The new species inhabits primitive clear-water rocky streams surrounded by broad-leaved forest in karst landforms or granite landforms. From April to June, males were observed calling while perched on the rocks or under rocks in flowing streams, and females possessed mature oocytes.

Comparisons.

In our phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 , Table 3 View Table 3 ) Leptobrachella shimentaina sp. nov. clusters with L. bashaensis , L. laui , L. liui , L. mangshanensis , L. maoershanensis , and L. yunkaiensis , thus, these six species constitute the most important comparisons, for the purpose of diagnosis and recognition of the new species. In having wide fringes along lateral surfaces of toes in males, it can be distinguished from L. bashaensis , L. mangshanensis and L. maoershanensis (vs. lateral fringes narrow); by ventral coloration, grayish pink with distinct hazy brown speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks; it can be distinguished from L. bashaensis (vs. creamy-white chest and belly with irregular black spots), L. laui (vs. creamy white with dark brown dusting on ventrolateral flanks), L. liui (vs. creamy white with dark brown spots on chest and ventrolateral flanks), L. maoershanensis (vs. creamy white chest and belly with irregular black spots), and L. yunkaiensis (vs. belly pink with distinct or indistinct speckling); by having dorsal skin with round granular tubercles and glandular folds, the new species can be further distinguished from L. laui (vs. dorsal skin lacking glandular folds), L. mangshanensis (vs. dorsal skin almost smooth with tiny transparent spines), and L. yunkaiensis (vs. dorsal skin shagreened with short skin ridges and raised warts); by dense small raised tubercles present on surface of chest and both sides of abdomen; it can be further distinguished from L. mangshanensis , L. liui , L. yunkaiensis , L. maoershanensis and L. laui (vs. ventral surface smooth); by having longitudinal ridges under toes continuous, with constrictions at interphalangeal articulations, it can be distinguished from L. laui (vs. longitudinal ridges without constrictions at interphalangeal articulations), L. liui (vs. longitudinal ridges interrupted at interphalangeal articulations), L. maoershanensis (vs. longitudinal ridges indistinct and not interrupted at interphalangeal articulations), and L. yunkaiensis (vs. longitudinal ridges without constrictions at interphalangeal articulations).

Compared with the 26 known congeners of the genus Leptobrachella occurring south of the Isthmus of Kra, by the presence of supra-axillary and ventrolateral glands, L. shimentaina sp. nov. can easily be distinguished from L. arayai , L. dringi , L. fritinniens , L. gracilis , L. hamidi , L. heteropus , L. kajangensis , L. kecil , L. marmorata , L. melanoleuca , L. maura , L. picta , L. platycephala , L. sabahmontana , and L. sola , all of which lack supra-axillary and ventrolateral glands; and by its distinctly larger male body size, SVL 26.4-28.9 mm, L. shimentaina sp. nov. differs from the smaller L. baluensis (14.9-15.9), L. brevicrus (17.1-17.8), L. bondangensis (17.8), L. fusca (16.3), L. itiokai (15.2-16.7s), L. juliandringi (17.0-17.2), L. mjobergi (15.7-19.0), L. natunae (17.6), L. parva (15.0-16.9), and L. palmata (14.4-16.8); the female of L. serasanae (16.9), is also smaller than L. shimentaina sp. nov. (females 30.1-30.7).