Huynh’s leaf-litter frog (Leptobrachella huynhi) from Lai Chau, Vietnam, sympatric with L. ventripunctata

NEWS - Researchers reported Huynh’s leaf-litter frog (Leptobrachella huynhi Hoang, Luong, Nguyen, Nguyen, Ninh, Le, Ziegler & Pham, sp. nov.) from Lai Chau, Vietnam, during fieldwork in the evergreen forest of the Hoang Lien Mountains in northwestern Vietnam by collecting 4 specimens.

Geographically positioned in the transition zone between the cold climate of the Tibetan mountains in China and the subtropical mountains of Southeast Asia, northwestern Vietnam is likely to have a very high level of biodiversity and may contain previously unknown herpetofauna taxa.

L. huynhi is the 35th species of Leptobrachella known from Vietnam. The new species differs from its relatives by a combination of morphological characteristics of medium size (SVL 37.8–40.2 mm, n = 4 adult females); head longer than wide; tympanum distinct; skin over the entire back is greenish brown.

Toes without interdigital membranes and with narrow lateral margins; supratympanic protuberance slightly rough with few nodules; back grayish brown with indistinct dark brown markings; interorbital area with overlapping double Y-shaped markings.

The middle of the abdomen is creamy white, the outer edge of the abdomen is brown with small whitish spots; iris is copper-colored. Genetically distinct from other species in the genus with an uncorrected genetic distance of ≥ 3.62% (mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene).

The new species was named after Prof. Dr. Huynh Huy Dang, Chairman of the Zoological Society of Vietnam, in honor of his great contribution to the vertebrate fauna of Vietnam. The researchers recommend “Huynh’s Leaf-litter Frog” as the common name in English and “Cóc mày huỳnh” in Vietnamese.

Currently, L. huynhi is known to originate from Sin Ho District, Lai Chau Province. The specimens were found in a small stream at ~1630 m elevation in evergreen forest near Sin Ho City and the DT128 inter-urban road. They were found sympatrically with L. ventripunctata.

L. huynhi is the sister taxon to L. shiwandashanensis, L. wuhuangmontis, L. shangsiensis, L. pluvialis, L. minima, L. ventripunctata, L. aerea, L. feii, L. aspera, L. damingshanensis, L. nahangensis, L. nyx and L. phiadenensis with high support values (0.94 in BI, 85 in ML) and can be distinguished by a genetic divergence of at least 3.62%.

The new species was found in evergreen forest near Sin Ho City and the area is not located in any protected area. The habitat of L. huynhi is threatened by degradation due to the expansion of agricultural land, infrastructure development of Sin Ho City and increasing human travel on the DT128 intercity road.

Original research

Hoang C, Luong A, Nguyen T, Nguyen T, Ninh H, Le LT, Ziegler T, Pham C (2024). A new species of Leptobrachella Smith 1925 (Anura, Megophryidae) from Lai Chau Province, Vietnam. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e136491, DOI:10.3897/BDJ.12.e136491

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