Morphological and molecular evidence reveal a new Asian leaf litter toad of the genus Leptobrachella Smith, 1925 (Anura, Megophryidae) from the northeastern hills of Yunnan, China

The genus Leptobrachella Smith, 1925 includes 110 species and is the most diverse genus of the family Megophryidae. The recent and rapid description of numerous new species of Leptobrachella suggests that its species diversity is underestimated. The Northeastern Hills of Yunnan, China, are located in the Wumeng Mountain region, bordering Sichuan and Guizhou provinces.

Compared to the other two neighboring provinces in the Wumeng Mountain region, the diversity of Leptobrachella in the Northeastern Hills of Yunnan has attracted less attention. During herpetological surveys in 2024, three Leptobrachella specimens were collected from the Northeastern Hills of Yunnan. The molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate the presence of a separate and previously unknown lineage in the L. oshanensis complex.

Morphologically, they are distinguishable from their congeners based on differences in body size, degree of webbing and fringing on the toes, ventral skin texture, and iris coloration in life. Herein, based on the integration of morphological comparisons and phylogenetic reconstruction, we describe a new species of Leptobrachella from the Northeastern Hills of Yunnan. Our discovery increases the number of Leptobrachella species recorded in China to 47 and the total number of known species in the genus to 111.

Our study further confirms that species diversity in the Northeastern Hills of Yunnan is underestimated, thus highlighting the need to further strengthen fieldwork and study in the future.