A new species of Chinese horned toad (Anura, Megophryidae, Boulenophrys) from western Guangdong Province, China, with recommendations for extinction risk assessments for several related congeners

By

Zhao, Yi-Yang
Lin, Shi-Shi
Li, Yuan-Hang
Lyu, Zhi-Tong
Zheng, Ke
Zeng, Zhaochi
Borzée, Amaël
Wang, Jian (Herpetologist)

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-11-24

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

38

Pages

345--357

Subjects

conservation assessment , management suggestions , molecular phylogeny , morphological conservatism , range extension , reassessment , sympatry , systematics

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e171400

 

Abstract

<br> The genus<br> Boulenophrys<br> is predominantly distributed in China and exhibits high species diversity. However, accurate conservation assessments for this genus are hindered by its unresolved taxonomy, which is linked to morphological conservatism, sympatric distribution patterns, and limited field survey data. In this study, we describe a new species, namely<br> Boulenophrys yangchunensis<br> sp. nov.<br> , and report new locality records for<br> B. acuta<br> (Wang, Li &amp; Jin, 2014) and<br> B. yunkaiensis<br> Qi, Wang, Lyu &amp; Wang, 2021 from western Guangdong Province, China. Additionally, we propose downlisting<br> B. acuta<br> , currently listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, to a lower threat category, and we recommend an extinction risk category update for<br> Boulenophrys yangchunensis<br> sp. nov.<br> ,<br> B. yunkaiensis<br> , and<br> B. gaolanensis<br> Song, Wang, Qi, Wang &amp; Wang, 2024. We further discuss key conservation challenges and provide targeted management recommendations to address these challenges.<br>