Amolops cuongi (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae), a new species from the Hoang Lien Range, Vietnam

A new species of the genus <i>Amolops</i> is described from the Hoang Lien Range, northwestern Vietnam as <i>Amolops cuongi</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> While morphological and molecular data assign these individuals to the <i>Amolops mantzorum</i> group, the new species is distinguishable from its congeners on the basis of a combination of the following diagnostic characters: size small (SVL 33.9-36.9 mm in males; 37.9-44.4 mm in females); head longer than wide; vomerine teeth absent or weakly developed; snout short (SE/SVL 0.15-0.17 in males; 0.14-0.16 in females); tympanum small (TD/ED 0.26-0.37 in males; 0.25-0.35 in females); the absence of circummarginal groove on the first finger; disc of finger III larger than tympanum; supratympanic fold present; dorsolateral fold absent; webbing formula I0-1II0-1III0-1IV1-0V; the presence of a band of small spinules and/or tubercles running from below nares, along upper lip, around lower half of eye, between tympanum and eye and rear axis of mandibles; granular skin on flanks and ventral surfaces of body; in life, dorsal body colouration of dark brown with diffuse-edged blotches of bluish grey, copper and yellowish green or pale green and copper; ventral surface of throat, chest and belly pale cream with white dots; males without vocal sacs; and nuptial pad velvety without spines. In the phylogenetic analysis using a combination of mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA, ND2, and cytochrome <i>b</i> (cyt <i>b</i>) genes, the new species is strongly supported as the most genetically distinct member of the <i>Amolops mantzorum</i> group with genetic distance ≥ 1.53% in the 16S rRNA, ≥ 8.70% in ND2, and ≥ 8.56% in cyt <i>b</i> compared to other members within the genus <i>Amolops</i>.