Megophrys (Panophrys) nanlingensis Lyu, J. Wang, Liu & Y.Y. Wang

Wang, Jian, Lyu, Zhi-Tong, Liu, Zu-Yao, Liao, Cheng-Kai, Zeng, Zhao-Chi, Zhao, Jian, Li, Yu-Long & Wang, Ying-Yong, 2019, Description of six new species of the subgenus Panophrys within the genus Megophrys (Anura, Megophryidae) from southeastern China based on molecular and morphological data, ZooKeys 851, pp. 113-164 : 134-139

Megophrys (Panophrys) nanlingensis Lyu, J. Wang, Liu & Y.Y. Wang sp. nov. Fig. 8, Table 7

Holotype.

SYS a001964, adult male, collected by Run-Lin Li on 21 December 2012 from Nanling Nature Reserve (24°54'48.80"N, 113°01'12.34"E; 1008m a.s.l.), Ruyuan County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China.

Paratypes (nine males).

SYS a001959-1962, SYS a001963/CIB110010, adult males, collected on 21 December 2012 by Run-Lin Li from the same stream as the holotype (1000-1300 m a.s.l.); SYS a002334, 2356-2358, collected on 1-3 October 2013 by Ying-Yong Wang and Zu-Yao Liu from Mt. Qiyun (25°52'22.84"N, 114°01'52.09"E; 691-1355m a.s.l.), Chongyi County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China.

Diagnosis.

(1) Body small-sized, SVL 30.5-37.3 mm in 10 adult males; (2) snout rounded in dorsal view; (3) tympanum distinct, moderate-sized, TD/ED ratio 0.43-0.57; (4) vomerine ridge and vomerine teeth present; (5) tongue notched posteriorly; (6) absence of lateral fringes and webbing on fingers, presence of narrow lateral fringes and rudimentary webbing on toes; (7) presence of a subarticular tubercle at the base of each finger and toe; (8) hindlimbs slender, heels overlapping, tibio-tarsal articulation reaching between the posterior corner to the center of eye; (9) TIB/SVL ratio 0.45-0.51 and FTL/SVL ratio 0.61-0.73; (10) dense conical granules present on surface of temporal region, upper lip, and from loreal region to the tip of snout; (11) granules and tubercles on dorsal surface forming a discontinuous X-shaped ridge and a pair of discontinuous dorsolateral ridges on back of trunk; (12) supratympanic fold distinct, whitish tan; (13) brown dorsally, with a dark triangular marking with light yellow edge between eyes, and an X-shaped or V-shaped marking with light yellow edge on the center of the back of trunk; (14) presence of a single subgular vocal sac in males; (15) nuptial pads and nuptial spines invisible in males during breeding season.

Comparisons.

Comparative data of Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. with M. dongduanensis sp. nov., M. nankunensis sp. nov., M. jiulianensis sp. nov., M. feii and the 33 recognized members of Megophrys s.l. allocated to the subgenus Panophrys are listed in Table 5.

Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. differs from M. dongguanensis sp. nov., M. nankunensis sp. nov. and M. jiulianensis sp. nov. by the heels overlapping when hindlimb is stretched along the side of the body (vs. heels not meeting in M. dongguanensis sp. nov. and M. nankunensis sp. nov.), presence of lateral fringes on toes (vs. absent in M. dongguanensis sp. nov., M. nankunensis sp. nov. and M. jiulianensis sp. nov.), tongue notched posteriorly (vs. not notched in M. dongguanensis sp. nov. and M. nankunensis sp. nov.), skin relatively smooth and lacking black horny spines (vs. skin rough with black horny spines in M. jiulianensis sp. nov.).

With the smaller body size, SVL 30.5-37.3 mm in males, Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. differs from the nine members with larger SVL values: M. baolongensis (42.0-45.0 mm in males), M. binlingensis (45.1-51.0 mm in males), M. caudoprocta (81.3 mm in single male), M. jingdongensis (53.0-56.5 mm in males), M. latidactyla (38.9 mm in single male), M. omeimontis (56.0-59.5 mm in males), M. sangzhiensis (54.7 mm in single male), M. shuichengensis (102.0-118.3 mm in males) and M. spinata (47.2-54.4 mm in males).

Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. differs from 12 species occurring in eastern and southern China ( M. acuta , M. brachykolos , M. boettgeri , M. cheni , M. huangshanensis , M. insularis , M. jinggangensis , M. kuatunensis , M. lini , M. lishuiensis , M. obesa and M. ombrophila ) by the following combination of characters: presence of vomerine teeth (vs. absent in M. acuta , M. boettgeri , M. brachykolos , M. cheni , M. huangshanensis , M. kuatunensis , M. lini , M. lishuiensis , M. obesa and M. ombrophila ), margin of tongue notched posteriorly (vs. not notched in M. acuta , M. brachykolos , M. jinggangensis , M. lini , M. lishuiensis , M. obesa and M. ombrophila ), toes with narrow lateral fringes (vs. wide in M. boettgeri , M. cheni and M. lini ; absent in M. brachykolos , M. huangshanensis , M. insularis , M. lishuiensis , M. obesa and M. ombrophila ), toes with rudimentary webbing (vs. toes without webbing in M. lishuiensis , M. kuatunensis and M. ombrophila ), hindlimbs comparatively longer, with heels overlapping when the flexed hindlimbs are held at right angles to the body axis (vs. hindlimbs short, with heels not meeting in M. acuta , M. brachykolos , M. huangshanensis , M. insularis , M. obesa and M. ombrophila ).

Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. differs from the remaining 12 members of the Megophrys s.l. allocated to the subgenus Panophrys which share a moderate or small body size, by the small horn-like tubercle at edge of the upper eyelid (vs. horn-like tubercle indistinct or absent in M. binchuanensis , M. minor , M. wuliangshanensis and M. wushanensis ; slightly large in M. palpebralespinosa ; long point in M. liboensis ), presence of vomerine teeth (vs. absent in M. binchuanensis , M. leishanensis , M. minor , M. wuliangshanensis and M. wushanensis ), tongue notched posteriorly (vs. tongue not notched in M. palpebralespinosa , M. tuberogranulatus and M. wushanensis ), toes with narrow lateral fringes (vs. wide in M. binchuanensis , M. liboensis , M. palpebralespinosa and M. wushanensis (in males)); absent in M. daweimontis , M. leishanensis , M. minor , M. tuberogranulatus , M. wuliangshanensis , M. wushanensis (in females); indistinct or absent in M. hoanglienensis ), toes webbing rudimentary (vs. toes without webbing in M. daweimontis , M. fansipanensis , M. rubrimera and M. wuliangshanensis ; indistinct or absent in M. fansipanensis and M. hoanglienensis ; at least one-fourth webbed in M. palpebralespinosa ), subarticular tubercles present (vs. absent in M. palpebralespinosa and M. rubrimera ).

Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. further differs from M. feii , for which molecular data are lacking and cannot be allocated to any subgenus based on morphology only ( Yang et al. 2018) by the larger body size, SVL 30.5-37.3 mm in males (VS. 24.3-25.1 mm in males), presence of nuptial pad with nuptial spines in males during breeding season (vs. absent), presence of vomerine teeth (vs. absent), presence of narrow lateral fringes on toes (vs. moderate or wide).

Description of holotype.

Adult male. Body size small, SVL 32.5 mm; head length and head width almost isometric, HDW/HDL 0.99; snout rounded in dorsal view, projecting, sloping backward to mouth in profile, protruding well beyond margin of lower jaw; top of head flat; eye large, ED/HDL 0.37, pupil vertical; nostril oblique ovoid; canthus rostralis well developed; loreal region slightly oblique; internasal distance slightly larger than interorbital distance; tympanum distinct, moderate-sized, TD/ED 0.48; large ovoid choanae at the base of the maxilla; presence of vomerine ridge bearing vomerine teeth; margin of tongue notched posteriorly; internal vocal slits present near the rear of the lower mandible.

RAD/SVL 0.25, HND/SVL 0.24; fingers without webbing and lateral fringes, relative finger length II <I <IV <III; tips of fingers slightly dilated, round; one subarticular tubercle at the bases of each finger; outer and inner metacarpal tubercles distinct, and the inner one observably enlarged. Hindlimbs slender, tibio-tarsal articulation reaching forward to the center of the eye when hindlimb is stretched along the side of the body; heels overlapping when the flexed hindlimbs are held at right angles to the body axis; TIB/SVL 0.49 and FTL/SVL 0.69; relative toe length I <II <V <III <IV; tips of toes round and slightly dilated; toes with narrow lateral fringes, rudimentary webbing; one subarticular tubercle at the bases of each toes; presence of a long ovoid inner metatarsal tubercle and absence of outer metatarsal tubercle.

Dorsal skin texture rough; head surface rough, with small tapered granules densely covering from temporal region, upper lip, loreal region to tip of snout; granules forming discontinuous X-shaped ridge with two discontinuous dorsolateral ridges on both sides at the central trunk; large tubercles on flanks; a horn-like prominent tubercle on the edge of the upper eyelid; distinct supratympanic fold curving posteroventrally from posterior corner of eye to a level above insertion of arm; ventral skin texture smooth, with several large granules and tubercles on two sides; ventral skin texture of thighs smooth, with a few small tubercles; pectoral gland larger, closer to axilla; single femoral gland on rear of thigh.

Measurements of holotype (in mm).

SVL 32.5, HDL 11.5, HDW 11.4, SNT 3.7, IND 3.5, IOD 3.3, ED 4.2, TD 2.0, TED 1.7, HND 8.0, RAD 7.8, FTL 22.3, TIB 15.9.

Coloration of holotype in life.

(Fig. 8 A–D) Brown dorsally, with a dark triangular marking with light yellow edge between eyes, and an X-shaped marking with light yellow edge on the center of the back of trunk. Dark brown transverse bands dorsally on lower arms and hindlimbs. Surface of snout brown. Black brown vertical band below the eye on each side. Temporal region brown, supratympanic fold white. Ventral surface pale grey, an indistinct longitudinal stripe on surface of throat. Scarlet spots on surface of chest. Belly whitish grey with dark brown marbling. A pair of black longitudinal stripes scattered with several white tubercles on surface of lateroventral flanks. Ventral surface of limbs light red and scattered with white spots. Ventral surface of hands and feet dark brown, tips of digits pale-grey. Metacarpal tubercle and metatarsal tubercle light red. Pectoral glands and femoral glands white. Iris reddish brown.

Coloration of holotype in preservative.

Coloration of dorsal and ventral surface turned pale; transverse bands on limbs, dark longitudinal stripe on surface of throat and black patches on surface of lateroventral flanks became more distinct; scarlet spots on surface of chest faded.

Variation.

Measurement data of type series are listed in Table 7.

All paratypes are very similar to holotype in morphology and color pattern. However, the male specimen SYS a001963 (Fig. 8E, F) is obviously large in snout-vent length than other specimens, with lighter reddish-brown iris, yellowish brown background coloration and comparatively smooth skin. The heels are significantly overlapping in all specimens from Nanling Nature Reserve but slightly overlapping in specimens from Mt. Qiyun.

Etymology.

The specific epithet “nanglingensis” is in reference to the type locality of the new species, Nanling Nature Reserve of the Nanling Mountains. We propose the common English name "Nanling Horned Toad" and Chinese name "Nan Ling Jiao Chan ( 南岭角蟾)”.

Distribution and natural history.

Currently, Megophrys nanglingensis sp. nov. is known from Nanling Nature Reserve and the neighboring Mangshan Nature Reserve (between elevations of 1000-1300 m), together with Mt. Qiyun (between elevations of 690-1400 m). It inhabits streams in bamboo forests. Males are frequently heard calling during August and December. Tadpoles could be found in this period.

Megophrys nanlingensis sp. nov. is sympatric with M. mangshanensis and M. popei in Nanling Nature Reserve and the neighboring Mangshan Nature Reserve.