Description
Gracixalus jinxiuensis is a small, shrub frog that has a snout vent length range of 24 – 32.0 mm. Its head is wider than it is long. In the dorsal view, the snout is rounded, and the length is longer than its eye diameter. Its nostril is closer to the tip of its snout than to its eye. The dorsal surface of its head has small bumps. The distance between the eyes is wider than the upper eyelid size. There are no pineal ocellus or spinules on the upper eyelid. The supratympanic fold extends from behind the eye to the axilla. Its tympanum is rounded and distinct. Its lower body scattered with tubercles and does not have dorsolateral folds. Its throat and chest are smooth but the belly is granular. The dorsal surface of its body and thigh have small granules. The ventral surface of the thigh is granular. There is no vent appendage. It has short arms that do not have dermal fringes on the outer forearm. Its unwebbed fingers have relative lengths of I < II < IV < III and end with well developed disks that have distinct circummarginal grooves. The disk of finger III is as wide as the tympanum diameter. Its nuptial pads are prominent with small tubercles. The legs are long, with the heels overlapping when the thighs are held at right angles to the body. Its tibia is longer than its thigh, and it lacks dermal ridges and tarsal folds. The webbed toes have relative lengths of I < II < III < V < IV and end in disks have distinct circummarginal grooves. The webbing formula for the toes is I_{2 – 2.5}II_{1.5 – 2.5}III_{2 – 3}IV_{3 – 2}V. The inner metatarsal tubercle is small but distinct (Ziegler et al. 2014, Matsui et al. 2015).

Gracixalus jinxiuensis is very similar in appearance to other members of its genus. From G. quyeti, the focal species can be differentiated by having a distinct supratympanic fold, a head that is longer than wide, and a shorter tibotarsal articulation that reaches the eye (Nguyen et al. 2008). From G. quangi, G. jinxiuensis can be differentiated because the latter has a brown dorsum (in life), rounded snout, and no tibiotarsal projections whereas the former has an olive-green dorsum (in life) and pale yellow-brown (in preservative) dorsum with triangular-pointed snout (Rowley et al. 2011). Male G. jinxiuensis from moderate elevations in southeastern China overlap in size with G. seesom but can be differentiated based on dorsal color and texture, which is tan and smooth in G. seesom while brown with scattered tubercles in G. jinxiuensis, and snout shape, which is pointed in G. seesom and rounded in G. jinxiuensis (Matsui et al. 2015). Gracixalus jinxiuensis is also very similar to Kurixalus ananjevae but they differ in size (Rowley et al. 2011).

In preservative, G. jinxiuensis has a grey snout and dorsum, the latter of which has a dark brown inverse Y. Between its eyes, there is a triangular pattern that splits into two bands and continue toward the back. Its tympanum is brown. The lateral sides of the head and flanks are grey and do not have spots. The throat, chest and belly are cream to white. The dorsal surfaces of the forelimb and thigh, and the tibia and foot are grey with some dark bars. The ventral sides of the forelimbs are white, while the ventral side of the thighs are white to grey. The toe webbing is grey (Ziegler et al. 2014). In life the dorsum is brown (Rowley et al. 2011; Matsui et al. 2015).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: China, Viet Nam

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Gracixalus jinxiuensis can be found in Vietnam and China. Specifically, in Vietnam, it is found in Fan Si Pan Mountain in northern Vietnam between 1,850 – 2050 m asl in upper montane forest, secondary growth forest, forest edge, and near streams. In China, it is found in northern Guangxi province, specifically in Dayaoshan in Jinxiu County and Huaping in Longsheng County, and in southern Huana province in Yizhang County at around 1,080 m asl. It is found in terrestrial, freshwater habitats, and forests in China (Lau et al. 2009).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The species has been observed breeding in July and August in pools where larvae develop (Lau et al. 2009). However, exact breeding behavior has not been described (Matsui et al. 2015).

Trends and Threats
Threats include habitat degradation and land use changes from agriculture and fires (Lau et al. 2009).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Habitat fragmentation
Local pesticides, fertilizers, and pollutants

Comments
The species authority is: Hu, S.-q. (1978) In: Hu, S.-q., Fei, L. & Ye., C.-y. Three new amphibian species in China. Materials for Herpetological Research, 4, 20.

Gracixalus jinxiuensis is synonymous with Philautus jinxiuensis (Lau et al. 2009) and was removed from the genus Philautus placed in the genus Gracixalus by Yu et al. (2009) based on Bayesian inference and Maximum-likelihood analysis of concatenated sequences from 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, Cytb, rhodopsin exon 1, tyrosinase exon 1, and Rag-1.

Maximum-likelihood analysis and Bayesian inference by Rowley et al. (2011) based on a 16S rRNA gene sequence identified a species complex that included G. jinxiuensis, K. ananjevae, K. carinensis, and a specimen that is presumed to be misidentified as K. odontotarsus. The complex is sister to a clade consisting of G. gracilipes, G. supercornutus, G. quangi and G. quyeti.

There is weak support for the genus Gracixalus being sister to the clade formed by Feihyla, Polypedates, and Chiromantis based on Bayesian inference and Maximum-likelihood analysis of concatenated sequences from 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, Cytb, rhodopsin exon 1, tyrosinase exon 1, and Rag-1 (Yu et al. 2009).

This species may occur near the Dan Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province of Vietnam. However, more information is needed to confirm this the population is indeed G. jinxiuensis (Lau et al. 2009)

The species epithet comes from the location it was found: Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in Vietnam (Ziegler et al. 2014).

References

Nguyen, Q.T., Hendrix, R., Bohme, W., Vu, .N.T., Ziegler, T. (2008). ''A new species of the genus Philautus (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Truong Son Range, Quang Binh Province, central Vietnam.'' Zootaxa , 1925, 1-13.

Lau, M. W. N., Wenhao, C., Ohler, A., Swan, S. (2009). Gracixalus jinxiuensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T58859A11850506. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58859A11850506.en. Downloaded on 15 August 2016.

Matsui, M., Khonsue, W., Panha, S., Eto, K. (2015). ''A New Tree Frog of the Genus Gracixalus from Thailand (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae).'' Zoological Science, 32(2), 204-210.

Rowley J.J.L., Dau V.Q., Nguyen T.T., Cao T.T., Nguyen S.V. (2011). ''A new species of Gracixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) with a hyperextended vocal repertoire from Vietnam.'' Zootaxa, (3125), 22-38.

Yu, G., Rao, D., Zhang, M., Yang, J. (2009). ''Re-examination of the phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 50, 571-579.

Ziegler, T., Tran, D.T.A., Nguyen, T.Q., Perl, R.G.B., Wirk, L., Kulisch, M., Lehmann, T., Rauhaus, A., Nguyen, T.T., Le, Q.K., and Vu, T.N. (2014). ''New amphibian and reptile records from Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam.'' Herpetology Notes, 7, 185-201.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2021 Gracixalus jinxiuensis: Jinxiu bubble-nest frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4421> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 19, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 19 Nov 2024.

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