A new species of small tree frog from a primary montane tropical forest of central Vietnam, Tay Nguyen Plateau, is described based on morphological, molecular, and acoustic evidence. The Golden Bug-Eyed Frog, Theloder...A new species of small tree frog from a primary montane tropical forest of central Vietnam, Tay Nguyen Plateau, is described based on morphological, molecular, and acoustic evidence. The Golden Bug-Eyed Frog, Theloderma auratum sp. nov., is distinguishable from its congeners and other small rhacophorid species based on a combination of the following morphological attributes： （1） bony ridges on head absent; （2） smooth skin completely lacking calcified warts or asperities; （3） pointed elongated tapering snout; （4） vocal opening in males absent; （5） vomerine teeth absent; （6） males of small body size （SVL 21.8-26.4 mm）; （7） head longer than wide; ED/SVL ratio 13%-15%; ESL/SVL ratio 16%-20%; （8） small tympanum （TD/EL ratio 50%-60%） with few tiny tubercles; （9） supratympanic fold absent; （10） ventral surfaces completely smooth; （11 ） webbing between fingers absent; （12） outer and inner metacarpal tubercles present, supernumerary metacarpal tubercle single, medial, oval in shape; （13） toes half-webbed： I 2-21/4 II 11/^-23/~ III 2-31/4 IV 3-11/2 V; （14） inner metatarsal tubercle present, oval; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; （15） iris bicolored; （16） dorsal surfaces golden-yellow with sparse golden-orange speckling or reticulations and few small dark-brown spots; （17） lateral sides of head and body with wide dark reddish-brown to black lateral stripes, clearlyseparated from lighter dorsal coloration by straight contrasting edge; （18） ventral surfaces of body, throat, and chest greyish-blue with indistinct brown confluent blotches; （19） upper eyelids with few （3-5） very small flat reddish superciliary tubercles; （20） limbs dorsally reddish-brown, ventrally brown with small bluish-white speckles. The new species is also distinct from all congeners in 12S rRNA to 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA fragment sequences （uncorrected genetic distance P〉8.9%）. Advertisement call and tadpole morphology of the new species are described. Our molecular data showed Theloderma auratum sp. nov. to be a sister species of Th. palliatum from Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.展开更多
基金partially supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research(RFBR 15-29-02771RFBR17-54-54002_viet_a)molecular analyses,preservation,and storage of specimens were carried out with financial support from the Russian Science Foundation(RSF 14-50-00029)
文摘A new species of small tree frog from a primary montane tropical forest of central Vietnam, Tay Nguyen Plateau, is described based on morphological, molecular, and acoustic evidence. The Golden Bug-Eyed Frog, Theloderma auratum sp. nov., is distinguishable from its congeners and other small rhacophorid species based on a combination of the following morphological attributes： （1） bony ridges on head absent; （2） smooth skin completely lacking calcified warts or asperities; （3） pointed elongated tapering snout; （4） vocal opening in males absent; （5） vomerine teeth absent; （6） males of small body size （SVL 21.8-26.4 mm）; （7） head longer than wide; ED/SVL ratio 13%-15%; ESL/SVL ratio 16%-20%; （8） small tympanum （TD/EL ratio 50%-60%） with few tiny tubercles; （9） supratympanic fold absent; （10） ventral surfaces completely smooth; （11 ） webbing between fingers absent; （12） outer and inner metacarpal tubercles present, supernumerary metacarpal tubercle single, medial, oval in shape; （13） toes half-webbed： I 2-21/4 II 11/^-23/~ III 2-31/4 IV 3-11/2 V; （14） inner metatarsal tubercle present, oval; outer metatarsal tubercle absent; （15） iris bicolored; （16） dorsal surfaces golden-yellow with sparse golden-orange speckling or reticulations and few small dark-brown spots; （17） lateral sides of head and body with wide dark reddish-brown to black lateral stripes, clearlyseparated from lighter dorsal coloration by straight contrasting edge; （18） ventral surfaces of body, throat, and chest greyish-blue with indistinct brown confluent blotches; （19） upper eyelids with few （3-5） very small flat reddish superciliary tubercles; （20） limbs dorsally reddish-brown, ventrally brown with small bluish-white speckles. The new species is also distinct from all congeners in 12S rRNA to 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA fragment sequences （uncorrected genetic distance P〉8.9%）. Advertisement call and tadpole morphology of the new species are described. Our molecular data showed Theloderma auratum sp. nov. to be a sister species of Th. palliatum from Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.
