A new species of Boulenophrys (Anura, Megophryidae) from northern Jiangxi, China

A new species of the genus Boulenophrys (Anura, Megophryidae), Boulenophrys nebulosa sp. nov., is described from Mt. Lushan, Jiangxi Province, China. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial COI and 16 S rRNA genes show that the new species forms a sister lineage to B. mufumontana.

Morphologically, B. nebulosa sp. nov. differs from all known congeners by a unique combination of characters and from its closest relative, B. mufumontana, by the following combination of characters: (1) relative finger lengths I <II <IV <III; (2) indistinct subarticular tubercle at the base of each finger; (3) larger male body size (SVL 31.8–32.3 mm); (4) heels just meeting when hindlimbs are folded; (5) tibiotarsal articulation reaching the center of the eye when the leg is stretched forward; and (6) vomerine teeth present.

This study expands the known distribution of Boulenophrys in Jiangxi and provides baseline data for biodiversity conservation efforts in Mt. Lushan.