Leptobrachella purpuraventra J. Wang, Y.L. Li, Y. Li, H.H. Chen & Y.Y. Wang

Wang, Jian, Li, Yu-Long, Li, Yao, Chen, Hong-Hui, Zeng, Ya-Jun, Jing-Min Shen, & Wang, Ying-Yong, 2019, Morphology, molecular genetics, and acoustics reveal two new species of the genus Leptobrachella from northwestern Guizhou Province, China (Anura, Megophryidae), ZooKeys 848, pp. 119-154 : 119

Leptobrachella purpuraventra J. Wang, Y.L. Li, Y. Li, H.H. Chen & Y.Y. Wang sp. nov. Figure 7

Holotype.

SYS a007284, adult male, collected by JW on 2 July 2018 from Jinjiazhai Village (27°7'5.92"N, 105°19'28.47"E; 1890 m a.s.l.) in Wujing Nature Reserve, Chahe Town, Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China.

Paratypes.

A single adult female, SYS a007278 and seven adult males, SYS a007277/ CIB 110003, 7279-7284, collected by JW, YLL, YYZ, HHC, JHL and Yingyong Wang (YYW hereafter), the same collection data as the holotype; besides, another three adult females, SYS a007304-7306, and four adult males, SYS a007300-7303, collected by JW, YLL, YYZ, HHC, JHL and YYW on 4 July 2018 from Baimashan Forest Station (27°41'25"N, 105°27'16"E; 1600 m a.s.l.) of Zhaozishan Nature Reserve, Shengji Town, Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China.

Diagnosis.

(1) small size (SVL 27.3-29.8 mm in males, 33.0-35.3 mm in females), (2) dorsal skin shagreened, some of the granules forming longitudinal short skin ridges, (3) iris bicolored, coppery orange on upper half and silver on lower half, (4) tympanum distinctly discernible, slightly concave, distinct black supratympanic line present, (5) internasal distance smaller than interorbital distance, IND/IOD ratio 1.03-1.10, (6) supra-axillary, femoral, pectoral and ventrolateral glands distinctly visible, (7) absence of webbing and lateral fringes on fingers, toes with rudimentary webbing and narrow lateral fringes, (8) longitudinal ridges under toes not interrupted at the articulations, (9) heels just meeting or slightly overlapping, tibia-tarsal articulation reaching to the middle of eye, (10) relative finger lengths I = II = IV <III, relative toe length I <II <V <III <IV, (11) dorsal surface shagreened and granular, lacking enlarge tubercles or warts, some of the granules forming short longitudinal folds, (12) dorsum purple brown to dark purple brown or grey purple grounding, with small light orange granules, distinct darker brown markings scattered with irregular light orange pigmentations, (13) flanks with several dark blotches, longitudinally in two rows, (14) ventral surface grey purple, with distinct or indistinct nebulous greyish speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks, without black spots (seldom present), (15) dorsal limbs including fingers and toes with dark bars, those on forearms indistinct, and (16) dense tiny conical spines present on surface of chest extending to anterior region of abdomen in males, and absent in females during breeding season.

Comparisons.

Comparative morphological data of Leptobrachella purpuraventra sp. nov., L. bijie sp. nov., and 45 recognized Leptobrachella species occurring north of the Isthmus of Kra were listed in Table 5.

In the phylogenetic trees (Figure 2), Leptobrachella purpuraventra sp. nov. is a sister taxon to L. bijie sp. nov. with a high support value (99% in BI, 0.82 in ML), and it can be distinguished from the later by a genetic divergence (p=3.9-4.2%). Morphologically, it differs from the later by the coloration of dorsum and ventral, dorsum purple brown to dark purple brown or grey purple grounding, ventral grey purple grounding (vs. dorsum greyish-brown grounding, ventral white grounding); dark bars on dorsal limbs indistinct (vs. distinctly visible); dark bars on dorsal surface of tibia and tarsus much broader, especially those on dorsal skin of tarsus (vs. relatively narrow dark bars on dorsal surface of tibia and tarsus); internasal distance smaller than interorbital distance, IND/IOD ratio 1.03-1.10 (vs. internasal distance equal to interorbital distance, IND/IOD ratio 1.00); larger TEY value, TEY/TMP ratio 0.60-0.76 (vs. TEY/TMP ratio 0.45-0.53); dense tiny conical spines present on surface of chest extending to anterior region of abdomen (vs. such spines less developed, present on surface of chest, not extending to anterior region of abdomen); lateral fringes on toes narrow but more developed and distinct (vs. less developed); length of toe V <III (length of toe V = III).

Compared with the 26 known congeners of the genus Leptobrachella occurring south of the Isthmus of Kra, by the presence of supra-axillary and ventrolateral glands, L. purpuraventra sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from L. arayai , L. dringi , L. fritinniens , L. gracilis , L. hamidi , L. heteropus , L. kajangensis , L. kecil , L. marmorata , L. melanoleuca , L. maura , L. picta , L. platycephala , L. sabahmontana , and L. sola , all of which lacking supra-axillary and ventrolateral glands; and by the significantly larger body size, SVL 27.3-29.8 mm in males, 33.0-35.3 mm in females, L. purpuraventra sp. nov. differs from the smaller L. baluensis (14.9-15.9 mm in males), L. bondangensis (17.8 mm in male), L. brevicrus (17.1-17.8 mm in males), L. fusca (16.3 mm in male), L. itiokai (15.2-16.7 mm in males), L. juliandringi (17.0-17.2 mm in males and 18.9-19.1 mm in females), L. mjobergi (15.7-19.0 mm in males), L. natunae (17.6 mm in male), L. parva (15.0-16.9 mm in males and 17.8 mm in female), L. palmata (14.4-16.8 mm in males), L. serasanae (16.9 mm in female), and Dring’s (1983) Leptobrachella sp. 3 “baluensis” (15.0-16.0 mm in males).

For the remaining 45 members of the genus Leptobrachella , in having SVL 27.3-29.8 mm in males and 33.0-35.3 mm in females, L. purpuraventra sp. nov. differs from the larger L. bourreti (42.0-45.0 mm in females), L. eos (33.1-34.7 mm in males and 40.7 in female), L. lateralis (36.6 mm in females), L. nahangensis (40.8 mm in male), L. nyx (37.0-41.0 mm in females), L. sungi (48.3-52.7 mm in males and 56.7-58.9 mm in females), L. tamdil (32.3 mm in male), and L. zhangyapingi (45.8-52.5 mm in males); and from the smaller L. alpinus (24.0-26.4 mm in males), L. applebyi (19.6-22.3 mm in males and 21.7-26.4 mm in females), L. ardens (21.3-24.7 mm in males, 24.5 mm in female), L. bidoupensis (18.5-25.4 mm in males), L. kalonensis (28.9-30.6 mm in females), L. maculosa (27.0 mm in female), L. maoershanensis (29.1 mm in female), L. mangshanensis (30.2 mm in female), L. melica (19.5-22.7 mm in males), L. pluvialis (21.3-22.3 mm in males), L. rowleyae (23.4-25.4 mm in males), L. tadungensis (32.1 mm in female), and L. tengchongensis (23.9-26.0 mm in males).

In having black spots on flanks, the new species differs from L. aerea , L. botsfordi , L. crorea , L. firthi , L. isos , L. pallida , L. petrops , and L. tuberosa , all of which lacking black spots on flanks; by having rudimentary webbing on toes, the new species differs from L. oshanensis , L. pallida and L. petrops , all of which lacking webbing on toes, and from L. pelodytoides , which bears wide webbing on toes; by having narrow lateral fringes on toes, the new species differs from L. aerea , L. firthi , L. isos , L. khasiorum , L. laui , L. liui , L. purpura , L. yunkaiensis , and L. yingjiangensis , all of which having wide lateral frings on toes, from L. fuliginosa , which having weak lateral fringes on toes, and from L. crocea , L. macrops , L. minima , L. oshanensis , L. pallida , L. pyrrhops , L. tuberosa , and L. ventripunctata , all of which lacking lateral fringes on toes; by having dorsal surface shagreened and granular, lacking enlarge tubercles or warts, the new species differs from L. fuliginosa (dorsum smooth with fine tubercles), L. laui (dorsum with round granular tubercle, lacking skin ridges), L. liui (dorsum with round tubercles), L. macrops (dorsum roughly granular with large tubercles), L. minima (dorsum smooth), L. pelodytoides (dorsum with small, smooth warts), L. tuberosa (dorsum highly tuberculate), L. yunkaiensis (dorsum with raised warts), and L. wuhuangmontis (dorsum rough with conical tubercles); by having ventral surface grey purple with distinct nebulous greyish speckling on chest and ventrolateral flanks, the new species differs from L. botsfordi and L. pyrrhops , (ventral reddish brown with white speckling), L. khasiorum (ventral creamy white), L. macrops (ventral Greyish-violet with white speckling), L. nokrekensis (ventral creamy white), L. puhoatensis (ventral reddish brown with white dusting), L. purpura (ventral dull white with indistinct grey dusting), L. tuberosa (ventral white with small grey spots/streaks), L. ventripunctata (chest and belly with large dark brown spots), L. wuhuangmontis (ventral greyish white), L. yunkaiensis (belly pink with speckling), and L. yingjiangensis (ventral creamy white); by having tiny spines on surface of chest extending to anterior region of abdomen in males during breeding season, the new species differs from all male specimens collected in breeding season of L. liui , L. oshanensis , L. yunkaiensis and L. wuhuangmontis , all of which lacking such spines.

Description of holotype.

Adult male. Body size small, SVL in 29.6 mm. Head length slightly larger than head width, HDL/HDW 1.05; snout slightly protruding, projecting slightly beyond margin of the lower jaw; nostril closer to snout than eye; canthus rostralis gently rounded; loreal region slightly concave; interorbital space flat, internarial distance larger than interorbital distance, IND/IOD 1.09; pineal ocellus absent; vertical pupil; snout length larger than eye diameter, SNT/EYE 1.14; tympanum distinct, rounded, and slightly concave, diameter smaller than that of the eye and larger than tympanum-eye distance, TMP/EYE 0.54 and TEY/TMP 0.68; upper margin of tympanum incontact with supratympanic ridge; distinct black supratympanic line present; vomerine teeth absent; vocal sac openings slit-like, paired, located posterolaterally on floor of mouth in close proximity to the margins of the mandible; tongue deeply notched behind; supratympanic ridge distinct, extending from posterior corner of eye to supra-axillary gland.

Tips of fingers rounded, slightly swollen; relative finger lengths I = II = IV <III; nuptial pad absent; subarticular tubercles absent; a large, rounded inner palmar tubercle distinctly separated from small, round outer palmar tubercle; absence of webbing and lateral fringes on fingers. Tips of toes like fingers; relative toe length I <II <V <III <IV; subarticular tubercles absent; distinct dermal ridges present under the 3rd to 5th toes, not interrupted; large, oval inner metatarsal tubercle present, outer metatarsal tubercle absent; toes webbing rudimentary; narrow lateral fringes present on all toes. Tibia 45% of snout-vent length; tibiotarsal articulation reaches to middle of eye; heels just meeting each other when thighs are appressed at right angles with respect to body.

Dorsal surface shagreened and granular, lacking enlarge tubercles or warts, some of the granules forming short longitudinal folds; ventral skin smooth; dense tiny conical spines present on surface of chest and extending to anterior region of abdomen; pectoral gland and femoral gland oval; pectoral glands greater than tips of fingers and femoral glands; femoral gland situated on posteroventral surface of thigh, closer to knee than to vent; supra-axillary gland raised. Ventrolateral gland distinctly visible, forming an incomplete line.

Measurements of holotype (in mm).

SVL 29.6, HDL 10.2, HDW 9.7, SNT 4.0, EYE 3.5, IOD 3.2, IND 3.5, TMP 1.9, TEY 1.3, TIB 13. 3, ML 7.7, PL 12.7, LAHL 13.8, HLL 42.7.

Coloration of holotype in life.

Dorsum dark purple brown grounding, with small light orange granules, distinct darker brown markings and rounded spots and scattered with irregular light orange pigmentations. A dark brown V-shaped pattern between anterior corner of eyes, in connected to the dark brown W-shaped marking on interorbital region, and the W-shaped marking in connected to the other W-shaped marking between axillae. Tympanum brown. A dark brown vertical bar under the eye; transverse dark brown bars on dorsal surface of limbs; distinct dark brown blotches on flanks from groin to axilla, longitudinally in two rows; elbow and upper arms with dark bars and distinct coppery orange coloration; fingers and toes with distinct dark bars.

Ventral surface grey purple, with distinct nebulous greyish speckling scattered with white spots on chest and ventrolateral flanks. Supra-axillary gland coppery orange with dark brown speckling; femoral, pectoral and ventrolateral glands greyish white. Iris bicolored, coppery orange on upper half and silver on lower half.

Coloration of holotype in preservative.

Dorsum of body and limbs dark brown; transverse bars on limbs become more distinct; dark brown patterns, markings and spots on back become indistinct, orange pigmentations become greyish white. Ventral surface of body and limbs greyish white, nebulous speckling on chest and flanks balck brown. Supra-axillary, femoral, pectoral and ventrolateral glands greyish white.

Variations.

Measurements and body proportions were listed in Table 7. All paratypes match the overall characters of the holotype except that: coloration of dorsum dark purple brown in the holotype SYS a007284 (vs. grey purple brown in paratypes SYS a007300 (Figure 7E), 7303, 7305 (Figure 8C), 7306; purple brown in paratypes SYS a007278 (Figure 8E), 7279, 7282, 7283 (Figure 7F), 7304 (Figure 8A)); heels just meeting (vs. heels slightly overlapping in paratypes SYS a007300, 7302); W-shaped marking on interorbital region in connected to the other W-shaped marking between axillae in the holotype (vs. such markings not in connected with each other in paratypes SYS a007278, 7282); a V-shaped pattern between anterior corner of eyes in the holotype (vs. a dark brown inverted triangular pattern between anterior corner of eyes instead in the paratype SYS a007300); relatively smaller black spots on flanks (vs. black spots distinctly large in paratypes SYS a007300-7301, 7304, 7306); ventral surface without black spots in the holotype (vs. presence of irregular black spots in paratype SYS a007278 (Figure 8F)).

Etymology.

The specific epithet pupura is given as a noun in apposition and means "purple color", and ventra, is given as a noun in apposition and means “ventral”, in reference to the purple coloration of ventral of the new species. For the common name, we suggest "Purple-bellied Leaf Litter Toad", and for the Chinese name "Zi Fu Zhang Tu Chan ( 紫腹掌突蟾)”.

Distribution and habits.

Currently, Leptobrachella purpuraventra sp. nov. is known from its type locality Jinjiazhai Village in Wujing Nature Reserve, Chahe County, and Baimashan Forest Station in Zhaozishan Nature Reserve, both in Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China (Figure 1). The new species was found along a clear-water rocky stream (ca. 3 m in width and ca. 10-20 cm in depth) surrounded by a broad-leaved forest in karst landforms (Figure 9, 1600-1900 m a.s.l.). From 2 July to 4 July in 2018 at 21:00-23:50 P.M., a large number of males were found calling on leaves of plants (Figure 10B), and some were found calling perching on the rocks or under rocks by the side of the stream.