Fringe-toed creature with bulging ‘coppery’ eyes found in China mountain is new species
In a forest in southern China at the edge of the Wuling Mountains, a previously unknown species with bright bulging copper eyes and fringed toes sat chirping by a river.
In 2024, researchers conducting field surveys at the Hunan Xiaoxi National Nature Reserve collected numerous specimens, including the singing amphibian, which they called an example of the “hidden” diversity of the mountain range.
Scientists have now identified it as a new species of leaf litter toad, according to a study published Jan. 16 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
Researchers described Leptobrachella yongshunensis, or the Yongshun leaf litter toad, as having toes with “narrow fringes,” a “creamy” white belly, a brick-red body with “large” warts, and “bright coppery” eyes, which protrude from its head.
The Yongshun leaf litter toad is the sister species, or closest living relative, to Leptobrachella wulingensis, also found in the Wuling Mountains, according to the study.
During the reproductive season in March, scientists observed two male Yongshun leaf litter toads chirping from rock crevices in the Xiaoxi National Nature Reserve, according to the study.
The “advertisement calls” lasted around 30 seconds, according to researchers.
On a second trip to the same area in July, researchers found the species concealed among the leaf litter layer making no noise. Scientists believe they might stay there between breeding cycles, the study said.
The Yongshun leaf litter toad differs from other related species in body shape and color, eye color, and its bioacoustic calls, or chirps.
“Hidden” biodiversity of the Wuling Mountains
Between 2020 and 2024, about 30 new species of Leptobrachella have been reported, with just one other species found in the Wuling Mountains, according to the study.
A 2024 study revealed the Wuling Mountains to be one of six “new hidden biological hot spots in China,” adding that the mountains’ waterways tend to isolate new species, meaning there are likely more to be discovered, researchers said.
The Xiaoxi National Nature Reserve is in the Hunan province and is about a 920-mile drive south from Beijing.
The research team included Jie Huang, Fang-Peng Zhang, Wan-Sheng Jiang, Yong-Xiang Tian, Xing-Long Huang, Ya-Lan Xu, Jing Liu, Xin-Yu Li, You-Xiang Zhang, and Tao Wu.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Fringe-toed creature with bulging ‘coppery’ eyes found in China mountain is new species."
