Dmitriy V. Arkhipov, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Goutam Sarker, Vladislav A. Gorin, Andrey M. Bragin, Tan Van Nguyen, Amir Hamidy, Mohd Abdul Muin, Nia Kurniawan, Rafe M. Brown, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, Eric Smith, Nikolay A. Poyarkov
A review of the taxonomic status of the Ingerophrynus parvus species complex, based on morphological, bioacoustic, and molecular data, revealed a new species from southern Thailand, which we describe as Ingerophrynus chrysolophus sp. nov. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following morphological characters: parotoid elongate, narrow, and sharply raised; warts on flanks less elevated than those of dorsum; cranial crests not thickened behind eyes; lores vertical; tympanum distinct, its diameter slightly exceeding two-thirds of eye length; tibia short; first finger longer than second; tip of third toe not reaching median subarticular tubercle of fourth toe; subarticular tubercles not enlarged; tarsal spine bases small; nuptial pads present; venter with low warts; ground color of flanks and dorsum light brown; dark brown stripes along the midline of the back; cranial ridges well-developed, bright orange. Phylogenetic analysis of the mtDNA fragment, including the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and ND1 gene sequences (up to 4,479 bp), confirms the placement of the new species as a sister of Ingerophrynus parvus s. str. (p-distance 5.37%). The genetic distinctiveness of Ingerophrynus chrysolophus sp. nov. and I. parvus s. str. is further confirmed by not sharing haplotypes of three nuclear genes (POMC, BDNF, and RAG1). Bioacoustic analysis revealed stable differences between the male advertisement calls of the two species. Furthermore, ecological modeling shows that the new species is allopatric with respect to I. parvus s. str.; their ranges are likely separated by a biogeographical boundary of the Kangar-Pattani Line. The new species is currently known from low- to mid-elevations (ca. 65–1,000 m a.s.l.) in tropical forests of southern and western Thailand, southern Myanmar, and southwest Cambodia. We suggest the new species be considered Least Concern (LC) according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Our study further underscores the urgent need for intensified integrative taxonomic research of the genus Ingerophrynus to clarify the taxonomy of wide-ranging species complexes and to elaborate effective conservation measures. © Copyright Dmitriy V. Arkhipov et al. 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.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory, Moscow, 119234, Russian Federation; Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao, Phayao, 56000, Thailand; Rabbit in the Moon Foundation, Suanphueng, Thailand; Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center (ARDRC) and Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States; Cottey College, 1000 W Austin Blvd, Nevada, 64772, MO, United States; Joint Vietnam - Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, 63 Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, 122000, Viet Nam; The School of Medicine & Pharmacy, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam; Center for Entomology & Parasitology Research, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam; Laboratory of Herpetology, Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI, Widyasatwaloka Jl. Raya Jakarta Bogor km 46, Cibinong, Indonesia; Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Hamzah Sendut Library 1, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Minden, Malaysia; Department of Biology, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, East Java, Malang, Indonesia; Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 66045, KS, United States
