AmphibiaChina 中国两栖类.

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN Red List Status Account CITES No CITES Listing National Status None Regional Status None

Description
Leptobrachella dorsospina is a rather small frog described from two male and five female specimens. The two males have snout-vent lengths of 28.7 and 30.5 mm, while females ranged from 32.1 - 39.8 mm. Its head length is slightly larger than its width. The snout extends out slightly beyond the lower jaw, and is longer than the eye diameter. Their nostrils are closer to the tip of the snout than the eye. The canthus rostralis is rounded and the loreal region is somewhat concave. The distance between the nostrils is shorter than the distance between the eyes. The interorbital region is flat and there is no pineal ocellus. They have vertical pupils. The tympanum to the eye distance is between 0.8 - 1.5mm. The tympanum membrane, which is distinct, round, and slightly depressed, has a diameter that is smaller than the eye diameter and larger than the distance from the eye to the tympanum. The upper edge of the tympanum touches the supratympanic ridge. The ridge extends from the eye’s posterior corner to the supra-axillary gland. The inner metacarpal tubercle is large and round. The outer metacarpal tubercle is well separated from the inner metacarpal tubercle, which is smaller but also round. The relative finger lengths are II = IV < I < III with round, slightly swollen tips. They have no subarticular tubercles, webbing, or lateral fringes. When the legs are held at right angles to the body, the heels slightly overlap. When the hind limb is adpressed along the body, the tibia-tarsal articulation reaches the posterior corner of the eye. The inner metatarsal tubercle is large and oval. The outer metatarsal tubercle is absent. The relative toe lengths are I < II < V < III < IV with the tips being round and a bit swollen. There are no subarticular tubercles but there are elongated dermal ridges in the 3rd to 5th toes, which break at the articulations. The toe webbing is rudimentary and all toes have narrow lateral fringes. The skin on the dorsum is rough with tubercles, dense conical granules, conical spines, and glandular folds. The skin is smooth on the ventral surface. They also have an oval femoral gland and oval pectoral gland (Wang et al. 2020).

DIAGNOSIS:

Leptobrachella dorsospina was described in the same paper as L. aspera, which are both found on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The two species are differentiated by L. dorsospina being larger, having conical dorsal spines, black spots on the flanks, grayish ventral skin with black spots and orange pigmentation, and breaks in the longitudinal ridges of toes III thru V at the articulations. For comparisons with the other 82 known Leptobrachella species, please see Wang et al. (2020).

COLORATION:

In life, the dorsum is grayish-brown or dark brown, scattered with grayish-brown pigments and yellowish-brown spots. The spines on the dorsum are translucent and the granules on the dorsum and dorsal surface of the limbs are greyish white and light brown. Starting near the anterior sides of the eyes, there are dark brown, inverted triangles that connect to a "W" shape marking between the axillas. The irises themselves are bichromatic - the upper half light orange and the lower half silver. A dark brown vertical can be found in the area under the eyes. The upper tympanic membrane is dark brown while the lower half is light orange with small metallic orange spots scattered across it. The supratympanic ridge is black. The flanks have two large, dark brown longitudinal rows that extend from the armpit to the groin. The elbows and upper arms are light orange. The limbs and digits have transverse dark brown stripes on the dorsal surface. The ventral surface is grayish white base, patterned with orange markings and black spots. The throat has light brown spots and while the chest and abdomen have distinct dark patches. There are also small light gray and pale brown granules on their ventral surface and limbs. The glands found in the femoral, pectoral and ventrolateral area are greyish white while the supra-axillary gland is light orange (Wang et al. 2020).

In preservative, the dorsum and limbs become dark brown, and the grey pigments and yellow-brown spots fade away. The transverse bars, dark brown markings, and spots on the back also fade, but are still visible. The previously translucent spines on the dorsal surface become grey. The flanks become more distinct. The ventral background color remains greyish white and the dark patches on the chest are more evident. The glands all become greyish white (Wang et al. 2020).

VARIATION:

Overall the specimens were consistent in characters, however, the male holotype had a greyish brown dorsum while the paratypes were dark brown and the black markings on the ventrum were more distinct and dense in the paratypes (Wang et al. 2020).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: China

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

At the time of the species description, L. dorsospina was only known from Yushe Forest Park in Shuicheng District near Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province near the border with Yunnan Province, China. This park has habitat composed of montane evergreen broadleaf forest. This species was found on top of fallen leaves near a clear-water, rock stream at an elevation of 2100 m a.s.l. (Wang et al. 2020).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Adult L. dorsospina are highly terrestrial, found on top of leaf litter (Wang 2020). At the time the species was described, males were not heard calling (Wang 2020).

Comments

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS:

References
Wang J, Z-T Lyu, S Qi, Z-C Zeng, W-X Zhang, L-S Lu, and Y-Y Wang. (2020). Two new Leptobrachella species (Anura, Megophryidae) from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southwestern China. ZooKeys 995, 97–125. [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2024 Leptobrachella dorsospina: English name: Shuicheng Leaf Litter Toad; Chinese name: Shui Cheng Zhang Tu Chan (水城掌突蟾) <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9285> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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