How little is known about "the little brown frogs": description of three new species of the genus Leptobrachella (Anura: Megophryidae) from Yunnan Province, China.

ABSTRACT: Asian leaf-litter toads of the genus Leptobrachella represent a great anuran diversification in Asia. Previous studies have suggested that the diversity of this genus is still underestimated. During herpetological surveys from 2013 to 2018, a series of Leptobrachella specimens were collected from the international border areas in the southern and western parts of Yunnan Province, China. Subsequent analyses based on morphological and molecular data revealed three distinct and previously unknown lineages, which we formally describe as three new species herein. Among them, we describe a new species that occurs at the highest known elevation for Leptobrachella in China. Four species of Leptobrachella, including two new species, are found in the same reserve. Further

SUBMITTER: Chen JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7231475 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature