Research Article |
Corresponding author: Dingqi Rao ( raodq@mail.kiz.ac.cn ) Academic editor: Peter Mikulíček
© 2020 Shuo Liu, Hong Hui, Dingqi Rao.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Liu S, Hui H, Rao D (2020) First record of Zhangixalus franki Ninh, Nguyen, Orlov, Nguyen & Ziegler, 2020 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) from China. Herpetozoa 33: 185-189. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.33.e59114
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We record Zhangixalus franki Ninh, Nguyen, Orlov, Nguyen & Ziegler, 2020 for the first time from China based on two specimens collected from Laoshan Nature Reserve, Yunnan Province. Morphologically, the newly collected specimens from China mostly agree with the type series from Vietnam. Phylogenetically, these individuals were placed in a clade with Z. franki from Vietnam based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Our finding brings the species number of the genus Zhangixalus to 29 in China.
distribution, mtDNA, new record, phylogeny, tree frog, Yunnan
The genus Zhangixalus Li, Jiang, Ren & Jiang, 2019 was split from Rhacophorus Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1822 by
Zhangixalus franki is a species which was recently described from Ha Giang Province, northeast Vietnam (
During our fieldwork in Laoshan Nature Reserve, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China from 2006 to 2012, we collected various specimens of tree frogs. After recent careful examination, we found two of them should be assigned to the recently named species Z. franki from comparisons in appearance and molecular analysis.
Specimens were fixed in 75% ethanol for storage after we had taken photographs and the specimens euthanized. Tissue samples of liver were preserved in 99% ethanol for molecular analysis. Specimens were deposited in Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (
Total genomic DNA was extracted from liver tissues. A fragment encoding mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced for two specimens collected from Yunnan, China. We used the primers 16Sar: 5’-CGCCTGTTTACCAAAAACAT-3’ and 16Sbr: 5’-CCGGTTTGAACTCAGATCACGT-3’ (
Sequences were aligned using MAFFT version 7 (
Two collected specimens of Z. franki were adult males found in Laoshan Nature Reserve, Xiajinchang Township, Malipo County, Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. A male
The two specimens have a similar appearance: dorsal surface of head and body green with some small brown spots, various in size and shape; tympanum region green; a brown stripe running from tip of snout, along canthus rostralis, bordering upper eyelid, along supratympanic fold to posterior of axilla; dorsal surface of fore and hind limbs green, fingers and toes brown; upper part of flank dark brown, axilla, lower part of flank and belly grey; white stripe present along edge of upper jaw, limb insertions, and dermal fringes of fore and hind limbs; flank with white stripe, separating upper green part from lower dark brown part; ventral surface of body and limbs grey; iris bronze, pupil black; dorsal surface of head and body smooth with a lot of very small tubercles, canthus rostralis smooth, supratympanic folds smooth with many very small tubercles, throat and chest smooth, belly rough, ventral surface of fore and hind limbs smooth (Fig.
The sequence alignment for a fragment encoding 16S rRNA gene was 510 bp in length. The sequences of the two specimens from China were nested in the genus Zhangixalus and were clustered together with the two specimens of Z. franki from Vietnam (Fig.
Phylogenetic relationships (Bayesian inference and Maximum likelihood) of the genus Zhangixalus inferred from 16S rRNA gene. Numbers before slashes indicate Bayesian posterior probabilities (only values above 70% are shown) and numbers after slashes indicate bootstrap support for Maximum likelihood analysis (only values above 50% are shown). The specimens collected in China are indicated by red.
The two specimens of Z. franki from Yunnan, China were collected before this species was described and named. These two specimens were ignored all the time until we carefully reexamined the collected material, and found they belonged to the species Z. franki. We provide evidence for the first time that this species is also distributed in China. Our record increases the total number of Zhangixalus species in China to 29.
In Yunnan, specimens of Z. franki were found on trees at night, close to small ponds in undisturbed evergreen forest. No females and eggs were found. Geographically, this new location in Yunnan is about 10 km away from the type locality of the species in Vietnam. This species probably also occurs in other parts of Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China (Fig.
We would like to thank Decai Ouyang and Jiazhong Wang for assistance in the field. Thanks to Wenjing Jiang for providing photos. Thanks also to our colleagues for their help and advice. We also thank the reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript.
Table S1. Samples used for DNA analysis in this study
Data type: DNA samples
Explanation note: Samples used for DNA analysis in this study.
Table S2. Pairwise distances (%) between and within homologous species and Zhangixalus franki
Data type: Pairwise distances
Explanation note: Pairwise distances (%) between and within homologous species and Zhangixalus franki.