This image shows the morphological characteristics of Leptobrachella verrucosa sp. nov., a new frog species found in south China's Guangdong Province.
Chinese scientists have found a new frog species, namely Leptobrachella verrucosa sp. nov., in south China's Guangdong Province. The findings were published in the journal Herpetozoa.
(Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering/Handout via Xinhua)
GUANGZHOU, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found a new frog species, namely Leptobrachella verrucosa sp. nov., in south China's Guangdong Province. The findings were published in the journal Herpetozoa.
Researchers, along with staff of the Bijia Mountain provincial-level nature reserve in the Lianshan Zhuang and Yao Autonomous County, found the species in the reserve's core area in May, and brought the living specimens back to the laboratory. They finally identified them as a new species of the genus Leptobrachella based on a combination of morphological and molecular data.
Lin Shishi, one of the authors of the academic paper, said that the species has a small body size, with five adult males measuring 23.2 to 25.9 mm in snout-vent length. They are iris bicolored, with the upper half coppery orange and the lower half grayish brown.
Scientists believe that the discovery of the frog species has important theoretical and practical significance for future ecological protection, scientific education and research on biological evolution. ■
This undated photo shows a Leptobrachella verrucosa sp. nov., a new frog species found in south China's Guangdong Province.
Chinese scientists have found a new frog species, namely Leptobrachella verrucosa sp. nov., in south China's Guangdong Province. The findings were published in the journal Herpetozoa.
(Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering/Handout via Xinhua)
