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Issue: Vol. 5752 No. 4: 29 Jan. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-01-29
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5752.4.2
Page range: 474-496
Abstract views: 92
PDF downloaded: 6

A new species of the genus Leptobrachella (Anura, Megophryidae) from Guangxi Huaping National Nature Reserve, South China

Natural History Museum of Guangxi; Nanning 530012; China
Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering; Foshan 528216; China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands; Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou 571158; China.
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province; Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu 610213; China
Natural History Museum of Guangxi; Nanning 530012; China
Huaping Nature Reserve of Guangxi; Guilin 541199; China
Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering; Foshan 528216; China
Natural History Museum of Guangxi; Nanning 530012; China
Amphibia diversity conservation isolation mechanisms sympatry

Abstract

A new species of the genus Leptobrachella is described from northern Guangxi, China, which emphasizes the significant and ongoing underestimation of amphibian diversity within the genus in the karst regions of southwestern China. The new species is phylogenetically sister to Leptobrachella maoershanensis in the 16S ribosomal RNA mitochondrial gene, and can be distinguished from all known congeners by a combination of morphological characteristics. It inhabits montane streams (1200–1400 m a.s.l.) in Guangxi Huaping National Nature Reserve and is sympatric with L. dong but segregates reproductively (breeding May–July vs. February–April), suggesting phenological separation as a key isolation mechanism for their coexistence. Leptobrachella cathaya sp. nov. faces severe anthropogenic threats, including habitat degradation from tourism and plantations, necessitating immediate conservation actions such as regulated access and enhanced population monitoring.

 

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How to Cite

Huang, Z., Zeng, Z.-C., Wang, H.-T., Lyu, Z.-T., Huang, H.-H., Liu, H., Wang, J. & Mo, Y.-M. (2026) A new species of the genus Leptobrachella (Anura, Megophryidae) from Guangxi Huaping National Nature Reserve, South China. Zootaxa, 5752 (4), 474–496. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5752.4.2