[Population Status of Centropus sinensis in Guangxi Province].

OBJECTIVE: T0 understand the population distribution, species abundance and habitats requirement of a medicinal animal, Centropus sinensis, in Guangxi Province. METHODS: Line transect methods were used to census population number and habitat types in 18 counties or cities of Guangxi. RESULTS: Centropus sinensis distributed in all study area, with a higher population density in the south than in the north. Among seven habitat types, the species preferred living in forest-farmland ecotone, while seldom in broad-leaves forest or plantations. CONCLUSION: The results of habitat preference show an advantage to the population recovering for forest-farmland ecotone commonly existing in Guangxi Province. But the speed of population recovering is slowly under illegal hunting pressure. More attention should be paid to protect this species.

A new species of the genus Leptobrachella Smith 1925 (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae) from Guangxi, China.

A new species of Leptobrachella, L.wumingensissp. nov., was described from the Damingshan National Nature Reserve, Wuming District, Nanning City, Guangxi, China based on morphological, molecular and bioacoustic data. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S mtDNA fragments revealed that the new species is closely related to L.damingshanensis. Uncorrected p-distances between the new species and all homologous DNA sequences available for the 16S gene of Leptobrachella are greater than 7.1%. Morphologically, L.wumingensissp. nov. differs from its congeners in several ways, including a medium body size (SVL 26.0-26.7 mm in males, 30.6-34.8 mm in females), lack of toe webbing and lateral fringes, shagreened and granular dorsal surface, pale brown dorsum with darker brown markings, iris bicolored, with the upper half copper and fading to silver in the lower half, and the presence of small irregular black spots and tangerine tubercles on the flanks. Furthermore, we found the new species to have two types of advertisement calls and relatively high dominant frequencies, making it distinct from its congeners.

A new species of Nidirana (Anura, Ranidae) from northern Guangxi, China.

A new species of music frog, Nidiranaguibeiensis sp. nov., is described from northern Guangxi, China. Based on two mtDNA fragments analyzed, phylogenetic trees reveal that N.guibeiensis sp. nov. is most closely related to N.leishanensis. However, the new species can be identified by conspicuous diagnostic morphological characteristics as well as bioacoustics. In contrast to the known Nidirana species, the advertisement calls of the new species can be divided into three types, calls with one, two, and three notes. In addition, the new species has nest construction behavior, which is inconsistent with N.leishanensis. Nidiranaguibeiensis sp. nov. occurs in paddy fields or still pools at 300-1300 m a.s.l.