''Leptobrachella suiyangensis'', also known as Suiyang leaf-litter toad, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Megophryidae Megophryidae, commonly known as goose frogs, is a large family of frogs native to the warm southeast of Asia, from the Himalayan foothills eastwards, south to Indonesia and the Greater Sunda Islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, and extending to th ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

province in southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and so far only known from Huoqiuba Nature Reserve, its type locality in the eponymous

Suiyang County Suiyang County () is a county in Guizhou Province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Zunyi. It has an area of 2,566 square kilometers and a population of 560,000 as of 2017. Suiyang leaf-litter toad, ''Leptobrache ...

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The head is slightly longer than it is wide. The snout is slightly protruding. The tympanum is distinct and rounded; the supratympanic fold is also distinct. The finger and toe tips are rounded and slightly swollen. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes have rudimentary webbing. Skin is dorsally shagreened. Dorsal coloration is purple-brown, turning to brown-purplish between the eyes and the scapular region. There are various dark-brown to black-brown markings. The elbows and upper arms have distinct dark-orange coloration. The ventral surface of the throat is grey-white; chest and belly are yellowish creamy-white. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

is bicolored: coppery orange on the upper half and silver grey on the lower half.

Habitat and conservation

This species is only known from its type locality at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

in the Huoqiuba Nature Reserve. The general area is characterized by subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest and evergreen deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest. The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected from a shallow stream about one half meters wide and ten centimeters deep and from a nearby, well-preserved bamboo forests. During the time of collection in June, males were calling from under bamboo leaves. Others individuals were found perching on or hiding under rocks by the stream side. As of late 2020, ''Leptobrachella suiyangensis'' had not yet been assessed for the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. The type locality is a reserve, but grazing and herb collection have caused disturbance in the area and could threaten this species. The range of this species might also extend into the adjacent Kuankuoshui National Nature Reserve.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q102815531 suiyangensis Frogs of China Endemic fauna of China Amphibians described in 2020