Boulenophrys dalaolingensis Wang, Chen & Liu, 2025

Boulenophrys dalaolingensis Wang, Chen & Liu, 2025 sp. nov.

Type material.

Holotype. NNUYC 240510 , adult male, collected on 12 May 2024 by Ruiqi Wang, Lu Chen, Gangzhi Peng, Honglin Peng, Xinzhang Gao from the Dalaoling Nature Reserve , Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China ( 31.0630°N, 110.9249°E; elevation 1629 m a. s. l.) GoogleMaps .

Paratypes. Six adult males ( NNUYC 240501 , NNUYC 240503 , NNUYC 240505 , NNUYC 240507 , NNUYC 240508 , and NNUYC 240509 ) and three adult females ( NNUYC 240502 , NNUYC 240504 , and NNUYC 240506 ) collected at the same locality and with the same collection information as the holotype GoogleMaps .

Etymology.

The specific epithet “ dalaolingensis ” is a Latinized adjective derived from the name of Dalaoling Nature Reserve, Hubei Province, China, which is the type locality of this species. We propose the English common name “ Mt. Dalaoling Horned Toad ” and the Chinese common name “ Dà Lǎo Lǐng Jiǎo Chán (大老岭角蟾) ”.

Diagnosis

(Table 2 View Table 2 , Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 ). The new species is recognized as a member of the B. omeimontis group based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and can be distinguished from its groups by a combination of the following characters: (1) medium-sized body, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females; (2) head width larger than head length, or nearly equal; (3) vomerine ridge without obvious V-shaped and vomerine teeth absent; (4) supratympanic fold prominent; (5) small nodules on the back, forming a weak V-shaped ridge; two discontinuous dorsolateral parallel ridges on each side of the V-shaped ridge; (6) margin of tongue smooth, with weakly notch behind; (7) maxillary teeth developed; (8) relative finger length III> II = I> IV; (9) tibio-tarsal articulation of adpressed limb reaching the posterior corner of eye; (10) iris reddish brown, black reticulations throughout, pupils vertical; (11) toes with more than 1 / 4 web; (12) lateral fringes of toes wide in males and not significant in females; and (13) males with gray nuptial pads at the base of the first and second fingers, covered thick and dense black nuptial spines.

Description of holotype

(measurements in Table 2 View Table 2 ). NNUYC 240510 , mature male, medium-sized body ( SVL 49.9 mm); head width larger than head length (HWD / HDL 1.2); snout blunt and pointed, extending significantly beyond mandibular margin on ventral view; loreal region vertical and concave; top of head flat, viewed from the back; canthus rostralis angular; eyes large ( ED / HDL 0.3); eye less than twice as long as maximum tympanum diameter ( ED / TD 2.0) and shorter than snout length ( SNT 3.6 mm, ED / SNT 1.4); tympanum distinct, circular in shape, relatively small ( TD / HDL 0.2), with upper border concealed by supratympanic ridge; pupil vertical, near diamond-shaped; eye-tympanum distance (TYE 2.7 mm) longer than tympanum diameter ( TD 2.5 mm); nostril rounded, laterally positioned, internarial distance greater than interorbital distance ( IND / IOD 1.2); choanae oval; vomerine teeth absent; margin of tongue rounded, slightly notch posteriorly; pineal ocellus absent; maxillary teeth present; supratympanic fold distinct, from posterior corner of eye to above insertion of arm; male with an internal single subgular vocal sac.

Forelimbs thick and robust, HND 22.2 mm, 44 % of SVL; relative finger length III> II = I> IV; fingertips round; hand lacking webbing, lateral dermal fringes absent; subarticular tubercles present at the base of each finger; two metacarpal tubercles, prominent, oval, the inner metacarpal tubercle larger than the outer one.

Hindlimbs slender, TIB ( 25.9 mm) greater than FTL ( 22.8 mm); heels slightly overlapped when flexed hindlimbs held at right angles to body axis; tibio-tarsal articulation reaching to posterior conner of eye when hindlimb stretched along body; the tibia was longer than the thigh; relative toe length I <II <V <III <IV; tip of toe round, slightly enlarged; subarticular tubercles present at the base of each toe; supernumerary tubercles absent; toes with more than 1 / 4 web; lateral dermal fringes on toes distinct, wide; inner metatarsal tubercle oval; no outer metatarsal tubercle.

Dorsal skin rough, numerous granules with black spines; several large warts scattered in the flank; small nodules on the back, forming a weak V-shaped ridge; two discontinuous V-shaped ridge present, its two sides extending posteriorly from above tympanum, terminating beyond level of axilla; an inverted triangle between the eyes; several small tubercles on the flank, thigh, and back of the tibia; supratympanic fold prominent; ventral surface smooth, covered with many white granules; pectoral glands indistinct; femoral glands in the posterior part of the femur and small white dermal asperities on the lateral part of the femur; the posterior end of the body clearly prominent, and an arc-shaped bulge formed by warts above the anus.

Coloration of holotype.

In life, dorsal surface of body olive green, inverted triangular brown spots between eyes; dorsal V-shaped ridge with brown spots; femoral and tibial dorsal transverse bands; several dark brown and white longitudinal lines on upper and lower lip; surface of abdomen grayish white with dark brown marbling; surface of ventral hind limbs bright red with many white granules; the ventral view of hand, foot and toe tip purplish-gray; femoral glands white. In preservative, dorsal surface of body faded to dark brown; the posterior part of the ventral body, the inner thighs and the upper tibia faded to milky white.

Secondary sex characteristics and variation.

The male with an internal single subgular vocal sac and a gray nuptial pad with large and dense nuptial spines on it at the base of the first and second fingers. In three female specimens ( NNUYC 240502 , NNUYC 240504 , NNUYC 240506 ), dorsal surface of body showed a remarkable reddish-brown color, with inverted triangular brick-red spots between the eyes and brick-red spots on the back; the crotch, inner thighs and upper tibia are bright rose red, which fades to light pink after immersion. All female specimens had narrower lateral dermal fringes of the toe compared with males.

Comparisons.

The new species was compared with the other species of the B. omeimontis species group. Based on molecular phylogenetics, B. dalaolingensis sp. nov. is most closely related to B. spinata , B. qianbeiensis and B. sangzhiensis ( Rao and Yang 1997; Fei et al. 2009; Tapley et al. 2017; Li et al. 2020; Su et al. 2020; Lyu et al. 2023;).

Boulenophrys dalaolingensis sp. nov. is significantly different from B. omeimontis by the smaller body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 52.1–62.0 mm in ten males and SVL 65.7–71.2 mm in seven females), no vomerine teeth (vs. vomerine teeth present) and males with 1 / 3 webbing and wide lateral fringes (vs. narrow lateral fringes); from B. sangzhiensis by the liquid-preserved specimens having smooth vomerine ridges, vomerine ridges not obvious (vs. vomerine ridges weak, vomerine teeth absent), toes of male with 1 / 3 web (vs. toes with rudimentary webbing), and lateral fringes of toes wide (vs. lateral fringes absent); from B. qianbeiensis by vomerine teeth absent (vs. present); from B. spinata by the tibio-tarsal articulation joint reaching between the tympanum and the eye or not extending beyond the anterior angle of the eye (vs. reaching anterior corner of eye), relative finger length IV <I = II <III (vs. I <II <IV <III); from B. fanjingmontis by obvious subarticular nodules at the base of each finger (vs. distinct subarticular tubercle at base of finger I, absent on other fingers), and large and dense nuptial spines at the base of the first and second fingers (vs. sparse tiny black nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II in breeding adult males).

Boulenophrys dalaolingensis sp. nov. is also significantly different from B. anlongensis by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 40.0– 45.5 mm in four males, SVL 48.9–51.2 mm in three females), and margin of tongue smooth, slightly notched posteriorly (vs. tongue not notched posteriorly); from B. binchuanensis by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 34.4–36.3 mm in two males, SVL 39.4–46.2 mm in three females), margin of tongue smooth, with slightly notch behind (vs. tongue not notched or weakly notched posteriorly), lateral dermal fringes on toes distinct, wide (vs. narrow), and vomerine ridge without obvious V-shape and vomerine teeth absent (vs. absent), and margin of tongue smooth, with slight notch at the posterior tip (vs. vomerine ridge absent); from B. binlingensis by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males and SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males and SVL 45.1–51.0 in three females), obvious subarticular tubercles at the base of each finger (vs. distinct subarticular tubercles at base of finger I, absent on other fingers), relative finger length IV <I = II <III (vs. II = IV <I <III), and tibio-tarsal articulation reaching to the posterior conner of the eye (vs. reaching region between center of eye and nostril); from B. jingdongensis by males with dense black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of fingers I and II (vs. dense nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II), vomerine teeth absent (vs. vomerine ridges and vomerine teeth present), and relative finger length IV <I = II <III (vs. II <I = IV <III); from B. lushuiensis by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 32.3–38.0 mm in 13 males and SVL 37.8–47.4 mm in 20 females), obvious subarticular tubercles at the base of each finger (vs. indistinct subarticular tubercle at bases of fingers I and II, absent on other fingers), and large dense black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of fingers I and II (vs. tiny dense nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II); from B. palpebralespinosa by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males (vs. SVL 36.2–38.0 mm in two males), smoother dorsal skin (vs. dorsal skin rough with large tubercles and distinct ridges), outer margin of upper eyelid with very small horn-like, prominent tubercles (vs. outer margin of upper eyelid with several large and prominent, horn-like tubercles), and large and dense black nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II (vs. tiny nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II); from B. rubrimera by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males (vs. SVL 26.7–30.5 mm in seven males), vomerine teeth absent (vs. present), two metacarpal tubercles, prominent (vs. metacarpal tubercles absent), relative finger length IV <I = II <III (vs. relative finger lengths I <II <IV <III), toes with more than 1 / 4 web, lateral dermal fringes on toes distinct, wide (vs. toes without webbing but with narrow lateral fringes); and from B. wuliangshanensis by the larger body size, SVL 49.9–56.2 mm in seven males, SVL 50.3–60.0 mm in three females (vs. SVL 25.9–28.5 mm in four males and SVL 32.1–38.0 mm in five females), vomerine ridge without obvious V-shaped and vomerine teeth absent (vs. vomerine ridges and vomerine teeth absent), toes with more than 1 / 4 web (vs. toes without webbing), and lateral dermal fringes on toes distinct, wide (vs. lateral fringes absent).

Distribution and ecology.

Currently, Boulenophrys dalaolingensis sp. nov. is known only from Dalaoling Nature Reserve, Hubei, China. The habitat is in a stream under a mixed montane subtropical coniferous and broadleaved forest at elevations between 1380–1650 m (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ). The stream is very cold, more than a meter wide, with a gritty bottom. This species is sympatrically distributed with Liua shihi , B. wushanensis , Nanorana quadranus , and Bufo gargarizans . During the field survey, males were heard in April and May with continuous calls around rocks and plants in streams, which could be heard both day and night. At night, females were observed crawling and swimming near the streams where males were active, but no mating behavior was observed. Tadpoles and eggs of this species were not found.