Three new species of the genus Boulenophrys (Anura, Megophryidae) from southern China
Author
Qi, Shuo
0000-0002-2924-6093
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China & qishuo 1992 @ outlook. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 2924 - 6093 & These authors contributed equally to this work
qishuo1992@outlook.com
Author
Lyu, Zhi-Tong
0000-0002-4891-3859
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China & lvzht @ foxmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 4891 - 3859 & These authors contributed equally to this work
lvzht@foxmail.com
Author
Wang, Jian
0000-0003-4249-7767
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China & wangj- 1994 @ outlook. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4249 - 7767
wangj-1994@outlook.com
Author
Mo, Yun-Ming
Natural History Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, Guangxi 530012, China. moyunming @ 163. com
Author
Zeng, Zhao-Chi
0000-0003-4054-8399
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China & zhaochizeng @ outlook. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4054 - 8399
zhaochizeng@outlook.com
Author
Zeng, Yang-Jin
Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve, Qingyuan, Guangdong 513000, China
Author
Dai, Ke-Yuan
Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve, Qingyuan, Guangdong 513000, China
Author
Li, Yuan-Qiu
Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve, Qingyuan, Guangdong 513000, China
Author
Grismer, L. Lee
0000-0001-8422-3698
Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Biology, La Sierra University, Riverside, California 92515, USA & Department of Herpetology, San Diego Natural History Museum, PO Box 121390, San Diego, California, 92112, USA & lgrismer @ lasierra. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 8422 - 3698
lgrismer@lasierra.edu
Author
Wang, Ying-Yong
0000-0003-2024-6641
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China & wangyy @ mail. sysu. edu. cn; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2024 - 6641
wangyy@mail.sysu.edu.cn
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-12-02
5072
5
401
438
journal article
3143
10.11646/zootaxa.5072.5.1
5758176c-96f6-43b9-b9a9-b2fac894dca8
1175-5326
5748979
B23A6B99-6D47-469F-8A4F-8AD41D77151A
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
Qi, Mo, Lyu, Wang & Wang
Mt. Dayao Horned Toad / yao shan jiao chan (Ṉ山fflDz)
Figures 3
,
7A
Chresonymy.
Megophrys minor
—
Liu & Hu 1962
Megophrys brachykolos
—
Fei
et al
. 2009
;
Mo
et al
. 2014
Boulenophrys brachykolos
—
Fei & Ye 2016
;
Fei 2020
Megophrys
sp
31 (SYS a002189–2190, 4850–4851, 4878)—
Liu
et al
. 2018
Holotype
.
SYS a002189 (
Figures 3A
,
7A
), adult male, collected on
8 July 2013
by
Yu-Long Li
and
Ying-Yong Wang
from the
Dayaoshan Nature Reserve
(
26.5517°N
,
114.1548°E
; ca
845 m
a.s.l.
),
Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County
,
Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region
,
China
.
Paratypes
.
Five
adult
specimens
from the same locality as the holotype:
male
SYS a000838
collected on
13 September 2011
by
Yu-Long Li
and
Ying-Yong Wang
;
males
SYS a004850
and
SYS a004851
/
CIB 116086
collected on
1 June 2016
by
Jian Wang
;
female
SYS a004878
(
Figure 3B
) collected on
3 June 2016
by
Jian Wang
;
male
SYS a007023
collected on
1 June 2019
by
Zhi-Tong Lyu
and
Yu-Long Li
.
Female
NHMG1503016
collected on
18 March 2015
by
Yun-Ming Mo
from the
Mt. Xianglu
(
24.1055°N
,
110.2300°E
; ca
1305 m
a.s.l.
),
Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County
;
male
NHMG201705032
collected on
5 May 2017
by
Yun-Ming Mo
from
16 km
west of
Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County
(
24.1162°N
,
110.2491 °E
, ca
1115m
a.s.l.
),
Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region
,
China
.
Etymology.
The specific epithet
yaoshanensis
refers to the
type
locality, the Dayaoshan Nature Reserve,
Guangxi
,
China
. Particularly, we employ the epithet “yaoshan” rather than “dayaoshan” to make it consistent with other zoological and botanical species discovered from this area, e.g.
Zhangixalus yaoshanensis
(
Liu & Hu, 1962
)
,
Leptobrachium liui yaoshanensis
(
Liu & Hu, 1978
)
,
Litsea yaoshanensis
Yang & Huang, 1978
, and
Rhododendron yaoshanicum
Fang & He, 1983
(
Liu & Hu, 1962
;
Liu
et al.
1978
;
Yang
et al.
1978
;
Fang & He, 1983
).
Diagnosis.
(1) Small body size, SVL
32.5–42.6 mm
(37.1 ± 3.5, N = 6) in adult males and SVL
46.6–47.4 mm
(47.0 ± 0.6, N =
2 in
adult females; (2) snout rounded in dorsal view; (3) tympanum boundary clear, ED/TD
1.38–1.85 in
males,
1.50–1.77 in
females; (4) weak vomerine ridge present, vomerine teeth absent; (5) margin of tongue rounded, not notched posteriorly; (6) hind limbs slender, heels slightly overlapping or meeting, and tibiotarsal articulation reaching eye when leg stretched forward; (7) tibia 0.45–0.51 of SVL and foot 0.63–0.73 of SVL in males, tibia 0.44–0.47 of SVL and foot 0.63–0.67 of SVL in females; (8) toes without lateral fringes and with rudimentary webbing; (9) small horn-like tubercle at the edge of upper eyelid present; (10) skin of dorsum relatively smooth, a discontinuous “X”-shaped ridge on at mid-dorsum; (11) a few sparsely distributed large tubercles on flanks; (12) body yellowish brown dorsally, an inverted hollow dark-brown triangularly shaped marking between eyes, a dark “X”-shaped making at mid-dorsum; (13) single subgular vocal sac in males; (14) presence of villiform black nuptial spines on dorsal surface of first and second fingers in adult males.
Comparisons.
Comparative data of
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
to other recognized members of the genus
Boulenophrys
are listed in
Table 3
.
Having a smaller body size with SVL
32.5–42.6 mm
in males,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
differs from the seven congeners whose SVL>
50 mm
in males, including
B. caudoprocta
(
81.3 mm
in a single male),
B. jingdongensis
(53.0–
56.5 mm
),
B. liboensis
(
60.5–67.7 mm
),
B. mirabilis
(
55.8–61.4 mm
),
B. omeimontis
(56.0–
59.5 mm
),
B. sangzhiensis
(
54.7 mm
in a single male), and
B. shuichengensis
(102.0–
118.3 mm
).
Having relatively longer shanks with heels that overlap or meet when the flexed hind limbs are held at right angles to the body axis,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
can be easily distinguished from the following nine congeners,
B. acuta
,
B. brachykolos
,
B. daoji
,
B. dongguanensis
,
B. insularis
,
B. nankunensis
,
B. obesa
,
B. ombrophila
, and
B. wugongensis
(vs. all of which have relatively shorter shanks with the heels not meeting).
Lacking vomerine teeth,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
differs from
B. caudoprocta
,
B. daiyunensis
,
B. daweimontis
,
B. dongguanensis
,
B. fansipanensis
,
B. frigida
,
B. hoanglienensis
,
B. insularis
,
B. jingdongensis
,
B. jinggangensis
,
B. jiulianensis
,
B. liboensis
,
B. nankunensis
,
B. nanlingensis
,
B. omeimontis
,
B. palpebralespinosa
,
B. qianbeiensis
,
B. rubrimera
,
B. sangzhiensis
,
B. shimentaina
, and
B. tongboensis
(vs. presence of vomerine teeth in these species).
Having an unnotched tongue,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
can be distinguished from
B. baolongensis
,
B. binlingensis
,
B. boettgeri
,
B. cheni
,
B. hoanglienensis
,
B. huangshanensis
,
B. insularis
,
B. jingdongensis
,
B. jiulianensis
,
B. kuatunensis
,
B. liboensis
,
B. lushuiensis
,
B. minor
,
B. nanlingensis
,
B. ombrophila
,
B. qianbeiensis
,
B. sangzhiensis
,
B. sanmingensis
,
B. shuichengensis
B. spinata
, and
B. tongboensis
(vs. tongue notched posteriorly in these species).
Lacking lateral fringes on toes,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
differs from
B
.
acuta
,
B. anlongensis
,
B
.
baishanzuensis
,
B. binchuanensis
,
B. boettgeri
,
B. congjiangensis
,
B. cheni
,
B
.
daiyunensis
,
B
.
daoji
,
B. jingdongensis
,
B. jinggangensis
,
B. liboensis
,
B. lini
,
B. lushuiensis
,
B. mirabilis
,
B. mufumontana
,
B. nanlingensis
,
B. omeimontis
,
B. palpebralespinosa
,
B. qianbeiensis
,
B. rubrimera
,
B. sangzhiensis
,
B. sanmingensis
,
B. shimentaina
,
B. shuichengensis
,
B. spinata
,
B. xiangnanensis
,
B. xianjuensis
, and
B. yangmingensis
(vs. presence of lateral fringes on toes in these species); and from
B. wushanensis
(vs. presence of wide lateral fringes on toes in males while lacking in females).
Having rudimentary webbing on toes,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
differs from
B. baishanzuensis
,
B. baolongensis
,
B. daweimontis
,
B. fansipanensis
,
B. frigida
,
B. huangshanensis
,
B. kuatunensis
,
B. lishuiensis
,
B. ombrophila
,
B. rubrimera
,
B. tongboensis
, and
B. wuliangshanensis
(vs. absence of webbing on toes in these species); and from
B. jingdongensis
,
B. palpebralespinosa
,
B. qianbeiensis
,
B. shuichengensis
, and
B. spinata
(vs. presence of well-developed webbing on toes in these species).
For the remaining seven species,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
can be further distinguished by the body size with SVL
46.6–47.4 mm
in females (vs.
37.5–39.2 mm
in
B. angka
,
39.5–40.4 mm
in
B. jiangi
,
42.3 mm
in
B. leishanensis
,
37.6 mm
in
B. shunhuangensis
, and
50.5 mm
in
B. tuberogranulatus
), the relative finger lengths II <I <IV <III (vs. I <II <IV <III in
B. angka
, IV
<I <II <III in
B. caobangensis
), tibio-tarsal articulation reaching eye when leg stretched forward (vs. between the nasal and tip of snout in
B. shunhuangensis
; between tympanum and eye in
B. chishuiensis
), dorsal skin relatively smooth (vs. dorsal skin rough with numerous granules in
B. chishuiensis
and
B. tuberogranulatus
), and absence of any spines on head (vs. presence of small black spines on temporal region in
B. caobangensis
).
Description of
holotype
.
Adult male. small body size, SVL
37.3 mm
; head length equal to head width, HDW/ HDL 1.00; snout rounded in dorsal view, projecting well beyond the margin of lower jaw, sloping backward to mouth lateral in profile; top of head flat; eyes moderate in size, ED 0.38 of HDL, pupil vertical, near diamondshaped; nostril oblique-ovoid; canthus rostralis well developed; loreal region slightly oblique; internasal distance slightly larger than interorbital distance; tympanum clear, ED/TD 1.68; large ovoid choanae at the base of the maxilla; weak vomerine ridge present, vomerine teeth absent, maxillary teeth present; margin of tongue rounded, not notched posteriorly; a single subgular vocal sac present, and a pair of slit-like openings at posterior of jaw.
FIGURE 3.
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
in life. A: holotype (SYS a002189), male; B: paratype (SYS a004878), female; 1: dorsolateral view; 2: ventral view; 3: hand; 4: foot.
TABLE 4.
Measurements (in mm) and ratios of the type series of
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov
.
, * indicates the holotype.
SYS a000838
|
SYS a002189*
|
SYS a004850
|
SYS a004851/ CIB 116086
|
SYS a007023
|
SYS a004878
|
NHMG1503016
|
NHMG201705032
|
Sex
|
Male |
Male |
Male |
Male |
Male |
Female |
Female |
Male |
SVL
|
32.5 |
37.3 |
37.2 |
34.3 |
38.9 |
46.6 |
47.4 |
42.6 |
HDL
|
11.4 |
12.5 |
12.1 |
12.0 |
12.7 |
14.5 |
15.0 |
15.2 |
HDW
|
12.3 |
12.5 |
13.1 |
12.6 |
12.8 |
15.2 |
16.1 |
16.0 |
SNT
|
4.4 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
4.3 |
4.5 |
5.1 |
5.6 |
5.4 |
IND
|
3.5 |
4.0 |
3.6 |
3.4 |
3.8 |
4.7 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
IOD
|
3.4 |
3.8 |
3.3 |
3.3 |
3.5 |
4.0 |
4.2 |
4.2 |
ED
|
4.0 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
4.1 |
5.0 |
5.3 |
4.8 |
4.7 |
TD
|
2.4 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
TED
|
1.8 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.8 |
1.9 |
2.4 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
HND
|
9.8 |
10.1 |
8.8 |
8.5 |
10.2 |
11.0 |
12.8 |
13.2 |
RAD
|
7.6 |
8.6 |
8.6 |
8.2 |
8.3 |
10.4 |
9.8 |
9.2 |
TIB
|
16.5 |
17.4 |
16.6 |
15.7 |
18.0 |
20.3 |
22.2 |
21.9 |
FTL
|
23.7 |
23.7 |
24.0 |
21.5 |
25.4 |
29.2 |
31.7 |
29.9 |
ED/TD
|
1.67 |
1.68 |
1.59 |
1.71 |
1.85 |
1.77 |
1.50 |
1.38 |
TIB/SVL
|
0.51 |
0.47 |
0.45 |
0.46 |
0.46 |
0.44 |
0.47 |
0.51 |
FTL/SVL
|
0.73 |
0.64 |
0.65 |
0.63 |
0.65 |
0.63 |
0.67 |
0.70 |
Radio-ulnar length 0.23 of SVL and hand 0.27 of SVL; hand without webbing, fingers without lateral fringes, relative finger length II <I <IV <III; tips of fingers slightly dilated, round; subarticular tubercles absent; inner metacarpal tubercle greatly enlarged and the outer metatarsal tubercle smaller; a single nuptial pad on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers. Hind limbs slender, tibio-tarsal articulation reaching beyond the posterior margin of eye when hind limb stretched alongside the body; heels just meeting when flexed hind limbs held at right angles to body axis; tibia length 0.47 of SVL and foot length 0.64 of SVL; relative toe length I <II <V <III <IV; tips of toes round, slightly dilated; toes without lateral fringes and with rudimentary webbing; inner metatarsal tubercle long ovoid and outer metatarsal tubercle absent.
Skin of dorsum relatively smooth with small granules; sparsely distributed large tubercles on flanks; a small, horn-like prominent tubercle on the edge of upper eyelid; unpigmented supratympanic fold curving posteroventrally from posterior margin of eye to a level above insertion of arm; a discontinuous “X”-shaped ridge at mid-dorsum; a few sparsely distributed large tubercles on flanks; sparsely distributed tubercles on dorsal surface of foreleg and thigh; ventral surfaces smooth; area around cloaca bearing small, spinose tubercles males; small pectoral gland close to axillae; and a single femoral gland on positioned subequally distant from knees and cloaca on posterior surface of each thigh..
Coloration of
holotype
in life.
Dorsal surface of body yellowish brown with an inverted hollow dark-brown triangularly shaped marking between eyes; an “X” shaped marking on the mid-dorsum. Forearms and hind limbs with dark-brown transverse bands. Supratympanic fold light-colored; a dark vertical band below the eye, from the inferior margin of the eye to the upper lip. Ventral surface of throat and chest greyish brown with dark-brown patches; ventral surface of body greyish white with creamy white and orange spots, ventral surface of limbs greyish brown with dark brown spots; ventral surfaces of hands and feet brown, tips of digits pale brown; metacarpal tubercle and metatarsal tubercle reddish. Pectoral gland and femoral gland white. Iris yellowish brown.
Coloration of
holotype
in preservative.
Yellowish brown faded to greyish brown dorsally. Triangular marking between eyes, “X” shaped marking on the mid-dorsum, transverse bands on dorsal forearms and hind limbs became indistinct. Color of ventral surface faded to greyish white, all bands and spots became indistinct.
Variation and sexual dimorphism.
Mensural data of the type series are listed in
Table 4
. Two females (
SYS
a004878,
SVL
46.6 mm
;
NHMG1503016
,
SVL
47.4 mm
) are distinctly larger than the males (
SVL
32.5–42.6 mm
). Three
paratypes
(
SYS
a004850–4851, 4878) have subarticular tubercles on the first phalangeal articulations of the fingers. The
holotype
and
two male
paratypes
(
SYS
a004850–4851) have small, spinose tubercles around the cloaca. Villiform black nuptial spines occur on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers in adult males
.
Distribution and ecology.
Currently,
Boulenophrys yaoshanensis
sp. nov.
is known only from Jinxiu and Mengshan counties,
Guangxi
,
China
. All individuals were found in evergreen secondary forest, inhabiting flowing montane streams and the nearby forest floor and leaf litter at elevations between
800–1350 m
. Males call while perched on leaves from May to July, suggesting their breeding season corresponds to this period. Females were found on the forest floor and tadpoles were not observed.