identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
7191F85362A6519097FCCAFDBA47261A.text	7191F85362A6519097FCCAFDBA47261A.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Brachytarsophrys wui Lyu, Zhou & Long 2026	<div><p>Brachytarsophrys wui Lyu, Zhou &amp; Long sp. nov.</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype • GIB 1972747, adult male, from <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=108.14244&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=27.326006" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 108.14244/lat 27.326006)">Lengshui River of Mt. Foding Nature Reserve</a>, Shiqian County, Guizhou Province, China (27.326006°N, 108.142440°E, elevation 740–1000 m. a. s. l.; Fig. 1), collected by Jingcai Lyu on 28 July 2019 .</p><p>Paratypes • Six specimens (two adult females, four adult males): GIB 1972746, GIB 1972748 –50, adult males, from the type locality collected by Jingcai Lyu on 28 July 2019 • GIB 1972725, adult female, collected by Shenglun Zhou on 27 July 2019, from Binjia River • GIB 1972751, adult female, collected by Shenglun Zhou on 23 July 2020 from Lengshui River of Mt. Foding .</p><p>Reference specimens.</p><p>GIB 1972709, GIB 20408, two tadpoles were collected by Jingcai Lyu on 29 July 2019 and 8 April 2020 from Lengshui River of Mt. Foding.</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) medium body size (SVL 88.1–93.2 mm in five adult males and 108.7–111.2 mm in two adult females); (2) head very large, wider than long, and nearly one-half as broad as the SVL; (3) tympanum hidden; (4) pupils black, iris brownish red; (5) upper eyelid with tubercles, one of which is enlarged and becoming a prominent, bluntly conical horn; (6) dorsal skin slightly rough with irregularly shaped dark blotches and stripes; (7) belly, chest, and limbs smooth with irregular off-white spots; (8) chin, ventral surface of throat rough with dark brown, irregularly shaped markings, two large longitudinal black-brown stripes on lateral throat; (9) single subgular vocal sac openings slit-like, located posterolateral on floor of mouth in male; (10) indistinct brown nuptial pad on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers base, with dense, tiny, black nuptial spines in adult male during breeding season; (11) forelimb short and thick, webbing absent, One third as broad as distal toe phalanx; (12) relative length of fingers I &lt;II &lt;IV &lt;III; (13) toes about I (1 ½) - (2) II (1 ½) - (3) III (2 ½) - (4) IV (4) - (2) V webbed in male; (14) tadpoles with a transverse white stripe, white speckles on posterior ventral surface, and two longitudinal white stripes along the sides of body; (15) oral disk with lips expanded vertically forming dorsally oriented funnel.</p><p>Description of the holotype.</p><p>GIB 1972747, Adult male, SVL 93.2 mm; head very large and extremely depressed, wider than long (HDW / HDL = 1.5), and nearly one-half as broad as the SVL (Fig. 3 A); choanae large, ovoid, close to the tip of snout, partly concealed by the maxillary shelves; internasal region slightly concave; snout tip in both ventral view and lateral view protruding slightly beyond lower jaw; interorbital region flatted; interorbital distances lightly wider than upper eyelid, 1.14 times as broad as internasal distance; pupil vertical; tympanum completely hidden (Fig. 4 B); canthus rostral is distinct; eyes large (EYE / HDL = 0.27), eye diameter slightly longer than snout length (EYE / SNT = 1.12); two vomerine ridges markedly elevated, extending behind far beyond the posterior of the choanae; vocal sac openings slit-like, located posterolateral on floor of mouth; tongue pyriform, with a shallow notch at posterior tip; supratympanic ridge distinct, running from eye towards axillary region with raised tubercles; occipital region slightly uplifted; a distinct transverse groove posteriorly demarks the head (Fig. 4 A). Forelimbs short and thick, fingers long and quite fat, with absent webbing and narrow fringes; relative length of fingers I &lt;II &lt;IV &lt;III (Fig. 4 F); tips of fingers rounded and slightly swollen; two metacarpal tubercles present, inner one significantly enlarged, outer one slightly enlarged (Fig. 4 G); hindlimbs relatively long and robust, tibiotarsal articulation reaching to the commissure of the jaw when leg is stretched along the side of the body; the heels separate when legs are held at right angles to the body axis; tibia two-fifths snout-vent length (TIB / SVL = 0.42); relative toe length I &lt;II &lt;V &lt;III &lt;IV; toe tips rounded and thickened; fringes on toes slight smaller; toes webbing markedly developed about I (1 ½) - (2) II (1 ½) - (3) III (2 ½) - (4) IV (4) - (2) V webbed, digits without subarticular tubercle, inner metatarsal tubercle ovoid and as long as the first toe, outer metatarsal tubercle and tarsal fold absent (Fig. 6 A 2). Dorsal skin slightly rough with several conical tubercles, irregular pustules on ﬂanks and dorsum of body and limbs (Fig. 4 E); chin, ventral surface of throat trough with brown, irregular dark markings, two large longitudinal black-brown stripes on lateral throat (Fig. 4 D); supratympanic fold narrow and distinct, curving ventrally from posterior corner of eye to above insertion of arm; upper eyelid with tubercles, one of which is enlarged into a prominent, bluntly conical horn (Fig. 4 C); belly, chest, and limbs smooth with irregular off-white spots; pectoral glands distinct, close to bases of forelimbs on ventral surface of axillary region; pectoral glands distinct (Fig. 4 H); tiny nuptial spines densely covering the dorsal surface of the first finger; cloacal opening unmodified, directed posteriorly at upper level of thighs (Fig. 4 I).</p><p>Coloration of holotype.</p><p>In life, dorsum brown, tinged with dark blotches and streaks; dark blotches towards the anterior of the dorsum increasingly edged with light brown, forming an irregular band of light brown between the eyes and a distinct W-shaped marking between the shoulders; tubercles black on rear of body, light brown or brown tinged with black on sides of body; ventral surface brown-black with small brown granular spots (Fig. 3 C); pectoral glands yellowish.</p><p>Ventral surface of throat with brown, irregular dark markings, two large longitudinal black-brown stripes on lateral throat; the tubercles on upper eyelid light colored, horn yellowish; pupils black; iris brown, with black reticulations throughout; upper lip light brown; tympanic region brown, mottled with dark brown markings; transverse dark brown bars on dorsal surface of fingers, toes, lower arms, tarsus, thighs and tibia; femoral gland yellowish; nuptial spines black; lower surface of digits, webs, palms, two metacarpal tubercle, and soles pale blue-grey; tip of digits and inner metatarsal tubercle grey-white; belly, chest, and limbs with irregular off-white spots, several yellowish spots on two sides of belly.</p><p>In preservation: Color of dorsal surface fades to brownness; the streaks, interocular stripe on the dorsum and W-shaped ridges on shoulders fades indistinct (Fig. 5 A); the throat and anterior chest fade to light brownish, while the abdomen grayish-white (Fig. 5 B); tip of digits, fingers and toes grayish-white (Fig. 5 C, D).</p><p>Tadpoles.</p><p>GIB 20408, in stage 29. BH 5.0 mm; BL 12.0 mm; BW 5.6 mm; ED 2.5 mm; MTH 6.4 mm; TMW 3.0 mm; TAL 24.3 mm; TOL 36.0 mm. TAL / TOL = 0.68. In life, body slender, flattened above (Fig. 7 A 1); tail depth almost equal to body depth; dorsal surface of head brown with irregularly shaped dark blotches and stripes; presence of unique color patterns on ventral surface (Fig. 7 A 3); two short, longitudinal white stripes bordered with blackish-brown on sides of ventral surface of head; a transverse white ventral stripe bordered with brown spots in line with the spiracles; two longitudinal white stripes along the sides of body, which begins at the end-points of the white transverse stripe and extend backwards to terminate near the anal tube (Fig. 7 A 2); belly mottled with dense white speckles between two longitudinal stripes; tail with three dark longitudinal stripes per side, one at base of the dorsal fin, one at base of the ventral fin, one centered along the caudal muscle.</p><p>Male secondary sexual characteristics.</p><p>The presence of large single subgula vocal sac; small femoral gland on posterior of thigh; indistinct brown nuptial pad on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers base, with dense, tiny black nuptial spines in all adult male specimens in preservative (Fig. 5 E, F).</p><p>Morphological variation.</p><p>Variation in size and body proportions of the type series are shown in Table 3. All four-adult male paratypes are very similar to the holotype in morphology and color pattern. In life, the female paratype GIB 1972725 differs from males in the following: light brown dorsum, streaks on dorsum, dorsal surface of fingers, toes, lower arms, tarsus, thighs, and tibia indistinct (Fig. 3 B, D); upper lip swollen and lighter colored; webs and fringes on toes slight smaller (Fig. 6 A 1); occipital region slightly uplifted. The color patterns on the ventral surfaces of 38 th stage tadpoles are indistinct compared to 29 th stage tadpoles, instead being oyster- white with sparse black speckles (Fig. 7 B 1, B 2).</p><p>–: Not available</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific epithet ‘‘ wui ’’ is in honor of late professor and zoologist Lyu Wu (1915–1983), vice president (1969–1975) of Guizhou Academy of Sciences (Guizhou Province, China), in recognition of his efforts on biodiversity surveys and research in Guizhou Province in the 1960 s and 70 s. For the common name, we recommend “ Wu’s Short-Legged Toad ” (English) and “ Wu Shi Duan Tui Chan ” (伍氏短腿蟾) (Chinese).</p><p>Natural history.</p><p>All specimens were collected at night in small streams in Mt. Foding Nature Reserve at about 740–1000 m elevation. Calling males were found along the stream, perching under rocks (Fig. 8). Duck-like calls could be heard during July (Fig. 10). These frogs inhabit montane streams surrounded by moist, subtropical, evergreen, broadleaf forests. An adult male and a cluster of eggs (approximately 1,600 in total) were found under a rock, suggesting that adult males may exhibit egg protection behaviors (Fig. 9). We conducted investigations once a month from March to October and found the breeding season of this species is likely from July to August. Females collected during these months were gravid, and males were heard calling only from July to the beginning of August. During the surveys, the number of males observed was much greater than females (males: females = 16: 2).</p><p>Advertisement calls.</p><p>Call descriptions are on the basis of the calls of the holotype, recorded at an ambient temperature of 19.5 ° C (Fig. 10 C). Calls of Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. consisted of a duck-like single note, with call duration 0.104–0.124s (0.111 ± 0.006, n = 21), call repetition rate 2.3s and intercall interval 0.261–0.460s (0.318 ± 0.055, n = 21). The dominant frequency was between 1.0–1.2 kHz, but fundamental frequency and harmonics were not clear (Fig. 10 A, B).</p><p>Distribution.</p><p>The species is currently only known from Mt. Foding National Nature Reserve, Shiqian County, Guizhou Province, China.</p><p>Comparisons.</p><p>Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from all other species of Brachytarsophrys by a combination of body size, ventral coloration and pattern, dorsal skin texture, degree of webbing and fringing on the fingers and toes, tadpole coloration and characteristics, and male secondary sexual characteristics (Kaewtongkum et al. 2014; Chuaynkern et al. 2022) (Table 3).</p><p>Care is taken here to specifically differentiate Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. from its closest congeners on the 16 S rRNA and COI matrilineal genealogy, B. orientalis and B. popei . Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from its sister taxon B. orientalis (Li et al. 2020) by the following: larger body size (SVL 108.7–111.2 mm in females, 88.1–93.2 mm in males vs. 88.6 mm in female, 76.8–82.7 mm in males); chin, ventral surface of throat rough (vs. smooth); the presence of a transverse white stripe on belly of tadpole (vs. absence); the presence of two large longitudinal black-brown stripes on lateral throat (vs. absence). Tadpole with a transverse white ventral stripe bordered with brown spots in line with the spiracles; two longitudinal white stripes along the sides of body, which begin at the end-points of the white transverse stripe and extend backwards to terminate near the anal tube (vs. absence of transversal stripes on chest). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. can be differentiated from B. popei (Zhao et al. 2014) by having larger body size (vs. SVL 86.2 mm in female, 70.7–83.5 mm in males); tongue with feebly notched (vs. deep posterior notch), head width about 1.5 times head length (vs. head width about 1.2 times head length).</p><p>Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. can be further morphologically differentiated from the remaining Brachytarsophrys congeners. Differing from B. carinense (Boulenger, 1889), Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. has a smaller body size (vs. SVL 124–168 mm in females, 91.6–123 mm in males), Differences of Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. from B. intermedia (Smith, 1921) having absence of a dermal ridge or glandular fold ondorsum (vs. presence of dermal ridge or glandular fold ondorsum). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from B. chuannanensis (Fei and Ye 2001) by having larger body size (vs. SVL 92 mm in female, 91.4–109.4 mm in males); slightly larger webbing of relative length I (1 ½) - (2) II (1 ½) - (3) III (2 ½) - (4) IV (4) - (2) V in males, I (2) - (2 +) II (1 ⅔) - (3) III (3 -) - (4) IV (4 +) - (2 ½) V in females (vs. toes with rudimentary webbing, narrow, less than one fifth of distal toe phalanx in males). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from B. platyparietus (Li et al. 2020) by having lateral fringes on the toes of males one third as broad as distal toe phalanx (vs. half as broad as distal toe phalanx); head width about 1.5 times head length (vs. head width about 1.2 times head length), and the absence of small tubercles on pectoral region, lateral belly to lower flank of body, ventral surface, and rear of limbs (vs. presence). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from B. feae (Boulenger, 1886) by having slightly larger webbing of relative length I (1 ½) - (2) II (1 ½) - (3) III (2 ½) - (4) IV (4) - (2) V in males (vs. toes with rudimentary webbing, narrow, less than one fourth of distal toe phalanx in males), lateral fringes on toes of males one third as broad as distal toe phalanx (vs. one fourth as broad as distal toe phalanx), a single transverse stripe on chest in tadpole (vs. several transversal stripes on chest in tadpole), and the absence of stellate bony deposits on each side of parietal region (vs. presence). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from B. qiannanensis (Li et al. 2022) by having larger body size (vs. SVL 80.1–84.9 mm in female, 70.1 mm in males); head width about 1.5 times head length (vs. head width about 1.7 times head length); the male specimen with indistinct brown nuptial pad present on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers base (vs. a brown nuptial pad present on the dorsal surface of the first finger). Brachytarsophrys wui sp. nov. differs from B. wenshanensis (He et al. 2024) by having larger body size (vs. SVL 83.8–85.1 mm in males); head width about 1.5 times head length (vs. head width about 1.2 times head length); the male specimen with indistinct brown nuptial pad present on the dorsal surface of the first and second fingers base (vs. lacking nuptial pad in male).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/7191F85362A6519097FCCAFDBA47261A	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Lyu, Jing-Cai;Zhou, Sheng-Lun;Zhang, Ting-Bi;Fang, Yang;Ran, Si-Yu;Dai, Liang-Liang;Jiang, Xuan-Kong;Long, Han-Wu;Yuan, Guo	Lyu, Jing-Cai, Zhou, Sheng-Lun, Zhang, Ting-Bi, Fang, Yang, Ran, Si-Yu, Dai, Liang-Liang, Jiang, Xuan-Kong, Long, Han-Wu, Yuan, Guo (2026): Morphological and molecular data reveal one new species of the genus Brachytarsophrys Tian & Hu, 1983 (Anura, Megophryidae) from Guizhou, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 102 (1): 71-85, DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.161437
