Description of a New Species of Amolops (Anura:Ranidae) from Tibet,China

A new species,Amolops pallasitatus sp.nov.is described based on specimens collected from Chentang Town,Dinggyê County,southern Tibet,China.The new species can be distinguished from other known congeners by mitochondrial divergence and morphological characteristics including:(1)medium body size,SVL 70.6–72.3 mm in adult females;(2)skin smooth over the entire body;(3)absence of dorsolateral fold;(4)tympanum small,edge indistinct,less than half of eye diameter;(5)vomerine teeth in two short oblique;(6)circummarginal and transverse grooves absent on disk of the first finger;(7)presence of inner metacarpal tubercle;(8)toes fully webbed,webbing formula Ⅰ0-0^-Ⅱ0-1/2Ⅲ0-1^+Ⅳ1^+-0Ⅴ;(9)absence of outer metatarsal tubercle and tarsal glands;(10)tibiotarsal articulation of the hind limb reaches posterior corners of the eye;(11)dorsum yellow-green,with irregular dark brown blotches without margins;(12)blotches concentrated on the dorsum,less on the flanks.In morphology,Amolops pallasitatus sp.nov.is similar to A.himalayanus and A.formosus,the difference between them is length of hind limbs,web of toe and dorsal colour pattern.The systematic placement of the new species within the genus is unresolved and it is not assigned to any recognized species group,for the lack of convictive evidences.

Inter-glacial isolation caused divergence of cold-adapted species:the case of the snow partridge

Deciphering the role of climatic oscillations in species divergence helps us understand the mechanisms that shape global biodiversity.The coldadapted species may have expanded their distribution with the development of glaciers during glacial period.With the retreat of glaciers,these species were discontinuously distributed in the high-altitude mountains and isolated by geographical barriers.However,the study that focuses on the speciation process of cold-adapted species is scant.To fill this gap,we combined population genetic data and ecological niche models(ENMs)to explore divergence process of snow partridge(Lerwa lerwa).Lerwa lerwa is a cold-adapted bird that is distributed from 4,000 to 5,500 m.We found 2 genetic populations within L.lerwa,and they diverged from each other at about 0.40–0.44 million years ago(inter-glacial period after Zhongliangan glaciation).The ENMs suggested that L.lerwa expanded to the low elevations of the Himalayas and Hengduan mountains during glacial period,whereas it contracted to the high elevations,southern of Himalayas,and Hengduan mountains during inter-glacial periods.Effective population size trajectory also suggested that L.lerwa expanded its population size during the glacial period.Consistent with our expectation,the results support that inter-glacial isolation contributed to the divergence of cold-adapted L.lerwa on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.This study deepens our understanding of how climatic oscillations have driven divergence process of cold-adapted Phasianidae species distributed on mountains.