Leptobrachella damingshanensis Chen, Yu, Cheng, Meng, Wei, Zhou & Lu, 2021
Damingshan Leaf Litter Toad, Chinese: Da Ming Shan Zhang Tu Chan (大明山掌突蟾) | family: Megophryidae subfamily: Leptobrachiinae genus: Leptobrachella |
Species Description: Wei-Cai Chen, Gui-Dong Yu, Zhi-Ying Cheng, Tao Meng, Hai Wei, Guang-Yong Zhou, Yan-Wu Lu. 2021. A new species of Leptobrachella (Anura: Megophryidae) from central Guangxi, China. Zoological Research 42(6): 783-788. |
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Description DIAGNOSIS: At the time of the species description, 63 species of Leptobrachella were recognized north of the Isthmus of Kra (southern Thailand). Leptobrachella damingshanensis can be differentiated from its most phylogenetically related congeners - L. aerea, L. alpina, L. feii, L. minima, L. nahangensis, L. nyx, L. pelodytoides, L. pluvialis, L. shangsiensis, L. sungi, L. ventripunctata, L. wuhuangmontis, and L. zhangyapingi - by the focal species having a medium body size, having distinct reddish-brown humeral glands in the proximal area of the thighs, having a creamy white ventrum, lacking finger webbing and fringes, having basal webbing and narrow lateral fringes on the toes, having irregular black spots on the flanks, and having a bi-colored iris (Chen et al. 2021, please see the citation for more comparisons). COLORATION: In life, the red dorsum has dark brown markings that are especially prominent between the eyes - as distinct, inverse, brown triangles - and on the shoulders. There are wide brown bars on the upper lip. The iris is bi-colored, with the upper half being copper and the lower half being silver. The posterior corner of the eye is creamy white. The tympanum is brown and the supratympanic fold is black with a reddish-brown line extending from the corner of the eye to the supra-axillary glands. The supra-axillary gland itself is creamy white, with an orange spot. The pectoral and femoral glands are also creamy white, but the humeral gland is reddish-orange. The flanks have small irregular black spots. The elbows, upper arms, tibiotarsal surfaces, and lateral surfaces of the digits are orange. The hind limbs have indistinct, dark brown, transverse bars. The ventrum is creamy white with white glands on the throat, chest, belly, and thighs. The white glands are especially concentrated near the lateral margins (Chen et al. 2021). In preservative, the dorsal and limb coloration fades to medium brown, the dark brown markings between the eyes and shoulder, black spots on the flanks, and creamy white spots on the ventrum all remain distinct. The supra-axillary, pectoral, femoral, and ventrolateral glands remain creamy white, however the humeral glands fade to pale orange. The upper arms also become pale orange (Chen et al. 2021). VARIATION: The three type specimens are consistent in body size and color pattern, but there is some variation in the black flanks spots and the density of creamy white belly glands (Chen et al. 2021). Distribution and Habitat Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: China
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors Males were recorded calling on rocks by rocky streams in the evening between 2000 - 2400 h. Calls of the species consist of a single note with a frequency of 4.6 - 5.2 kHz. The duration of the holotype call was 294.1 ms, and the call interval was 228.7 ms (Chen et al. 2021). Trends and Threats Comments PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS: The new species was identified with morphological, molecular, and acoustic data. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference of a 16S rRNA gene fragment suggest that L. damingshanensis forms a sister taxon with L. nahangensis followed by L. nyx (Chen et al. 2021). ETYMOLOGY: The species epithet, “damingshanensis,” refers to the location in which the species was discovered: Damingshan National Nature Reserve (Chen et al. 2021). References Li, S.-Z., Liu, J., Wei, G., & Wang, B. (2020). A new species of the Asian leaf litter toad genus Leptobrachella (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae) from southwest China. ZooKeys, 943, 91. [link] Originally submitted by: Johanna Merkel (2023-07-31) Description by: Johanna Merkel, Ann T. Chang (updated 2023-07-31)
Distribution by: Johanna Merkel (updated 2023-07-31)
Life history by: Johanna Merkel (updated 2023-07-31)
Trends and threats by: Johanna Merkel (updated 2023-07-31)
Comments by: Johanna Merkel (updated 2023-07-31)
Edited by: Ann T. Chang (2023-07-31) Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2023 Leptobrachella damingshanensis: Damingshan Leaf Litter Toad <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9469> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Feb 7, 2025.
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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 7 Feb 2025. AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use. |