Feihyla fuhua Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010

Biju, S. D., Garg, Sonali, Gokulakrishnan, G., Chandrakasan, Sivaperuman, Thammachoti, Panupong, Ren, Jinlong, Gopika, C., Bisht, Karan, Hamidy, Amir & Shouche, Yogesh, 2020, New insights on the systematics and reproductive behaviour in tree frogs of the genus Feihyla, with description of a new related genus from Asia (Anura, Rhacophoridae), Zootaxa 4878 (1), pp. 1-55 : 21-22

Feihyla fuhua Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010

White-cheeked Jelly-nest Frog

( Figs. 1–5 ; Tables 1–2 )

Original name and description. Feihyla fuhua Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010 . Fei L., Ye C.Y., and Jiang J.P. 2010. A new species of Rhacophoridae from Yunnan, China ( Amphibia, Anura ). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 35: 413–417 (in Chinese). Type. Holotype, CIB 584168, by original description. Type locality. “Qianjinxiang, Pingbian County (22.58° N, 103.41° E, alt. 1040 m), Yunnan Province ”, China. Current status of specific name. Valid name as Feihyla fuhua Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010 .

Diagnosis. Medium adult size (male SVL 25–29 mm); snout nearly pointed in dorsal view; dorsum shagreened to sparsely granular; lateral surfaces of the head, including tympanic region, darker than dorsal colouration; a prominent white or off-white streak extending from below the eye to the shoulder or beyond up to the groin; dorsum light greyish-yellow or yellowish-brown, with contrasting reddish-brown concave bands forming a ‘)(‘-shaped marking; presence of a pale white or cream pre-and post-orbital stripe, and a thin continuous or discontinuous reddish-brown band between the eyes; first two fingers opposed to the others; foot webbing moderate, up to the second subarticular tubercle on either side of toe IV ( Fig. 5 ).

Distribution. Feihyla fuhua is currently known only from western and south-eastern Yunnan, western Guangxi Province, and extreme western Guizhou Province in southern China. This species could be present in Vietnamese regions (Lao Cai Province) ( Fig. 4 ). Previous reports of ‘ F. palpebralis ’ from China are likely to refer to this species (see remarks under F. palpebralis ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum Likelihood tree showing phylogenetic relationships among 124 representative taxa from all recognised genera of the subfamily Rhacophorinae. Relationships are inferred based on 1,937 bp of mitochondrial (12SrRNA, tRNAVAL, 16SrRNA) and nuclear (RHO and RAG1) genes. Numbers above and below the branches indicate Bayesian Posterior Probabilities and RAxML bootstrap support values, respectively.

FIGURE 2. A–B. DNA Barcoding based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences: A. genus Feihyla; B. genus Rohanixalus gen. nov.; C. distribution of the new genus Rohanixalus. Images represent the corresponding species and their broad geographical ranges.

FIGURE 3. Nest structure and egg clutch morphology in the closely relatedAsian genera Chirixalus, Feihyla, and Rohanixalus. A. Foam nest in genus Chirixalus: an amplected pair of C. simus on a freshly laid foam nest; B. bubble nest in genus Rohanixalus: R. vittatus female with a freshly laid egg clutch; C. jelly-nest in genus Feihyla: eggs of Feihyla fuhua; D. schematic illustration of egg clutch morphology in genus Rohanixalus; E. schematic illustration of egg clutch morphology in Feihyla palpebralis group (Feihyla sensu stricto); F. schematic illustration of egg clutch morphology in Feihyla vittiger group; G. schematic illustration of egg clutch morphology in genus Chirixalus.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of genetically confirmed records of all known Feihyla and Rohanixalus members (indicated by circles) and their respective type localities (indicated by triangles). Numbers corresponding to each species are indicated alongside the distribution spots.

FIGURE 5. Members of the Feihyla palpebralis group and their nest structure. A–E. Feihyla fuhua from Mt. Dawei, Yunnan Province, China. A. Dorsolateral view; B. lateral view (arrow indicating a white streak); C. dorsal view; D. freshly laid eggs in a jelly-nest (arrow indicating pigmented pole); E. developing embryos; F–G. Feihyla palpebralis from the type locality, Langbian Plateau, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam: F. dorsolateral view; G. freshly laid eggs in a jelly-nest (arrow indicating pigmented pole); H–I. Feihyla fuhua from Maguan County, Yunnan Province, China: H. dorsolateral view (arrow indicating a white streak); I. freshly laid eggs in a jelly-nest (arrow indicating pigmented pole).