A new limestone-dwelling species of Micryletta (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) from northern Vietnam

Nikolay A Poyarkov; Tan Van Nguyen; Tang Van Duong; Vladislav A Gorin; Jian-Huan Yang

doi:10.7717/peerj.5771

A new limestone-dwelling species of Micryletta (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) from northern Vietnam

PeerJ. 2018 Oct 4:6:e5771. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5771. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Nikolay A Poyarkov^{1

2}, Tan Van Nguyen^{3

4}, Tang Van Duong^{1

5}, Vladislav A Gorin¹, Jian-Huan Yang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
² Laboratory of Tropical Ecology, Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, Hanoi, Vietnam.
³ Save Vietnam's Wildlife, Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
⁴ Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang City, Vietnam.
⁵ Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁶ Kadoorie Conservation China, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Hong Kong, China.

Abstract

We report on a new species of the genus Micryletta from limestone karst areas in northern Vietnam, which is described on the basis of molecular and morphological evidence. Micryletta nigromaculata sp. nov. is restricted to narrow areas of subtropical forests covering karst massifs in Cat Ba National Park (Hai Phong Province) and Cuc Phuong National Park (Ninh Binh Province) at elevations of 90-150 m a.s.l. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species is unambiguously positioned as a sister lineage to all remaining species of Micryletta. We also discuss genealogical relationships and taxonomic problems within the genus Micryletta, provide molecular evidence for the validity of M. erythropoda and discuss the taxonomic status of M. steinegeri. We suggest the new species should be considered as Endangered (B1ab(iii), EN) following the IUCN's Red List categories. A discussion on herpetofaunal diversity and conservation in threatened limestone karst massifs in Southeast Asia is provided.

Keywords: Biodiversity; Endemism; Indochina; Karst; Micryletta nigromaculata sp. nov; Morphology; Phylogeny; Red river; Taxonomy; mtDNA.

Grants and funding

Fieldwork was supported by the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, Hanoi, Vietnam. Molecular experiments, phylogenetic analyses, specimen storage and examination were carried out with the financial support of Russian Science Foundation (RSF grant No. 14-50-00029). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.