''Boulenophrys lini'' is a species of frogs in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to Luoxiao Mountains at the border of the Jiangxi and Hunan provinces in southeastern China. Its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours professor Ying Lin (1914–2003), botanist and vice chancellor of

Nanchang University Nanchang University (NCU; ) is a public research university located in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. NCU has also been recognized as a National Key University in the nation. Based on the new plan initiated by Chinese Ministry of Education in 2017, N ...

who conducted biodiversity surveys and research in the Jinggang Mountains. Megophrys lini female paratype

Description

Males measure and 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 ...

. Snout is short. Dorsal skin is smooth and has scattered granules, and usually, a few curved weak ridges. There is a small, horn-like tubercle at the edge of the eyelid as well as several tubercles on the flanks. Supratympanic fold is narrow and light coloured. Dorsal colour is light brown or olive. There is a dark, triangular interorbital marking, and an X-shaped dorsal marking with light bordering. Ventral surfaces are smooth. Hind legs are elongated; toes have rudimentary webbing. Males have tiny, black nuptial spines on the middle of the dorsal surface of the first finger and a single

vocal sack The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one wa ...

. They call both day and night. Reproductive season is assumed to start in September–October. Tadpoles have a maximum length of about . Body is slender and horizontally compressed, with dorsal fin than is slightly higher than the body. Oral disk is terminal with expanded and upward-directed lips.

Distribution and habitat

''Boulenophrys lini'' is only known from a number of locations on the Luoxiao Mountains: Dabali and Niushiping in the

Yanling Taoyuandong National Nature Reserve Yanling may refer to the following locations in China: * Yanling County (延陵縣) in Dai Commandery under the Han dynasty *Yanling County, Henan Yanling County () is a county in the central part of Henan province, China. It is the easternmost ...

, Hunan, and Jingzhushan, Bamianshan (the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

), and Nanfengmian Nature Reserve in Jiangxi. It lives along rushing mountain streams surrounded by subtropical moist evergreen broadleaf forests at elevations of

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. Tadpoles have been found under rocks in a stream. Two other '' Boulenophrys'' species occur in the area, but the three species differ in their habitats: ''

Boulenophrys jinggangensis ''Boulenophrys jinggangensis'' is a species of frog in the family 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 Indon ...

'' lives in slow-moving streams at asl, and '' Boulenophrys cheni'' in swamps at forest edges at asl. The species also differ in the characteristics of the male advertisement calls.

Conservation

''Boulenophrys lini'' is locally common and occurs in well-protected reserves. However, it is likely to suffer from habitat loss and deterioration outside the protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q115941500 , from2=Q18050515 lini Frogs of China Endemic fauna of China Amphibians described in 2014 Taxa named by Ying-Yong Wang