A New Species of Boulenophrys (Megophridae) from Mt. Hengshan, Hunan Province, China, with Re-Description on B. hengshanensis
<i>Boulenophrys gutu</i><b>sp. nov.</b> was described from Mt. Hengshan, and <i>B. hengshanensis</i> was re-described based on the holotype and newly collected specimens using phylogenetic and morphological evidence. The new species forms an independent clade, and it is diagnosed by a combination of following characters: (1) male SVL 34.4-44.7 mm (<i>n</i> = 7), female SVL 36.2-52.8 mm (<i>n</i> = 8); (2) dorsal surface of head, body, and limbs relatively smooth; (3) vomerine ridge weak, vomerine teeth absent; (4) narrow lateral fringes on toes; (5) heels moderate long, meeting when thighs are positioned at right angles to body; (6) supratympanic fold behind tympanum thick, distinctly enlarged with thickness near diameter of tympanum; (7) inner metatarsal tubercle small (IMT/SVL 4.4-5.2%); (8) several large dark brown patches along both ventrolateral sides of abdomen; (9) coloration of inner and outer metacarpal tubercle, inner metatarsal tubercle, and tip of digits ivory. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and COI genes revealed that <i>B. hengshanensis</i> is sister to <i>B. wugongensis</i>. Morphological comparisons showed that <i>B. hengshanensis</i> is diagnosed by a combination of following characters: (1) moderate body size, male SVL 34.4-38.0 mm (<i>n</i> = 9), female SVL 48.4 mm (<i>n</i> = 1); (2) weak vomerine ridge, absence of vomerine teeth; (3) tongue not notched behind; (4) a small horn-like tubercle on upper eyelid; (5) rudimentary webbing between toes; (6) narrow lateral fringes on toes; (7) heels relatively short, not meeting when thighs are positioned at right angles to body; (8) supratympanic fold behind tympanum narrow, not distinctly enlarged; (9) a pair of dark brown broad stripes along ventrolateral sides of abdomen; (10) dense creamy white dots present on lower abdomen, merge with deep brown patches without clear boundary.
Authors
- Kexin Pei
- Tai-Fu Huang
- Ling Pu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6678-5766)
- Ya-Wei Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9924-3226)
- Dai‐Yong Kuang
- Shengchao Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2337-6572)
- Meng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0766-6388)
- Wei Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5126-3415)
- Yunning Cao
Institutions
- Jianghan University (CN)
- Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Forestry (CN)
- State Forestry and Grassland Administration (CN)
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection (CN)
- University of South China (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Animals
- Published
- 2025-09-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15182745
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Study of Mite Species
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 12.11