Bioacoustics of Gracixalus nonggangensis

Description of holotype . Adult male (SVL 30.0 mm), body moderately elongate; head slightly longer than wide (HL 12.0 mm; HW 11.2 mm ; MN 10.0 mm; MFE 7.8 mm ; MBE 3.4 mm ); snout rounded in dorsal view and slightly protruding, SL ( 4.7 mm ) longer than horizontal diameter of eye (EL 3.8 mm ); canthal edges rounded, loreal region oblique, slightly concave; nostrils oval, markedly protuberant, directed laterally, closer to tip of snout (NS 1.6 mm ) than to eye (EN3.0 mm); internasal distance (IN 2.9 mm ) as wide as upper eyelid (UEW 2.8 mm ), less than interorbital space (IUE 3.7 mm ); internarial space concave; distance between front of eyes (IFE 5.9 mm ) about 60% distance between back of eyes (IBE 9.9 mm ); pupil horizontally oval; tympanum ( TYD 1.6 mm ) distinct, rounded, 42% of eye diameter, and equal to the disc of finger III ( 1.6 mm ); tympanum-eye distance (TYE 0.9 mm ), 56% of tympanum diameter; supratympanic fold indistinct, extending from behind of eye to above the shoulder; parotoid glands absent; cephalic ridges absent; co-ossified skin on the head absent; vomerine teeth absent; tongue pear-shaped with deep notch posteriorly. Forelimbs short and gracile ( Fig. 2 ; Fig. 3 A); forearm (FLL 5.9 mm ) shorter than hand (HAL 8.9 mm ), hand 67% as long as foot (FOL 13.2 mm ); forearm and hand length ( 14.8 mm ) slightly smaller than half of SVL; dermal fringe along outer side of forearm absent; fingers I short and thin; fingers II, III (TFL 5.4 mm ) and IV long and thin; relative length of fingers: I <II<IV<III ( Fig. 3 A); tips of all fingers with moderate discs, with circummarginal grooves, almost two times the width of finger (fd1/fw1 1.4/ 0.7 mm ; fd2/fw2 1.9/1.0 mm; fd3/fw3 2.3/ 1.1 mm ; fd4/ fw4 2.3/ 1.1 mm ); finger webbing absent; subarticular tubercles distinct, bluntly rounded: one on fingers I and II, and two on fingers III and IV; prepollex distinct, oval; two small palmar tubercles, the outer indistinct; supernumerary tubercles distinct on finger II, III, IV, absent on fingers I. Hindlimbs moderately long ( Fig. 2 ; Fig. 3 B); heels slightly overlapping when legs are folded at right angle to body; when adpressed to body, the tibiotarsal articulation reaches to the tip of snout; tibia 4.7 times longer (TL 16.5 mm ) than wide (TW 3.9 mm ), longer than thigh (FL 15.8 mm ) and foot length (FOL 13.2mm ), approximately 44% of SVL; length of foot and tarsus (TFOL 21.7 mm ) about 72% of SVL; toes moderately long and thin, toe IV (FTL 7.1 mm ) 33% the distance from base of tarsus to tip of toe IV; relative length of toes: I<II<III<V<IV; tips of all toes with small discs, with distinct circummarginal grooves, rather wide compared to toe width, discs almost one and a half times width of toes (td1/tw1 1.2/ 0.9 mm ; td2/tw2 1.5/ 0.9 mm ; td3/tw3 1.5/ 0.9 mm ; td4/tw4 2.0/1.0 mm; td5/tw5 1.8/ 0.9 mm ); webbing formula I 2–2 1/ 2 II 1 1/2 –3+ III 2 –3 1/ 2 IV 3+– 2- V (MTTF: 8.0 mm; MTFF 5.9 mm ; TFTF 8.4 mm ; FFTF 5.4 mm ); subarticular tubercles prominent, rounded, simple and all present: 1, 1, 2, 3, 2; tarsal fold absent; supernumerary tubercles absent; inner metatarsal tubercle distinct (IMT 1.3 mm ), 1.5 times in length of toe I (ITL2.0 mm); outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Dorsum and dorsal parts of head, forelimbs, and hindlimbs overall smooth but with some small tubercles; lower part of tympanum with many small tubercles; ventral part of forearm, tibia and tarsus smooth; dorsolateral folds absent; throat, chest, belly and ventral part of thighs granular; macroglands absent; dermal appendage at vent absent. Coloration in life. Dorsal parts of head and dorsum, flank, loreal region, tympanic region and tympanum yellowish-olive, a dark-green irregular patch running from between eyes to shoulder, divaricating to the posterior part of the dorsum; upper and lower lip yellowish-olive with some creamy white spots; dorsal part of forelimb, thigh, tibia and foot yellowish-olive with transverse olive bands, forelimbs with 3 and hindlimbs with 6; lower part of flanks and tympanum with some dark brown spots; throat and margin of throat, chest, and belly marbled with white, ventral part of forelimbs and hindlimbs greyish-white; iris olive with brown reticulations; pupil periphery lined with yellow ( Fig. 2 A, B, C). Coloration in formalin. Dorsal parts of head and dorsum, and upper part of flanks brownish grey; the dorsum with irregularly dark brown mark, a triangular spot between eyes bifurcating into two bands continuing posteriorly; lower flank beige with brown small spots; snout, canthus and loreal region, tympanum region, tympanum, and upper lip brown or brownish with white spots; vent region brown or brownish with white spots; forelimb, dorsal surface of thigh, tibia and foot light brown or grey with some dark brown bands; anterior and posterior part of thigh, and underneath the vent grey with small white spots; throat, margin of throat, chest and belly creamy white with brown marbling; ventral part of forelimbs and thighs creamy white; webbing greyish ( Fig. 2 D, E, F). Male secondary sexual characters. Nuptial pad absent; internal subgular vocal sac present; lineae masculinae absent. Measurements of holotype . SVL, 30.0; HL, 12.0; HW, 11.2; MN, 10.0; MFE, 7.8; MBE, 3.4; IFE, 5.9; IBE, 9.9; IN, 2.9; EN, 3.0; EL, 3.8; NS, 1.6; SL, 4.7; TYD , 1.6; TYE, 0.9; IUE, 3.7; UEW, 2.8; HAL, 8.9; FLL, 5.9; TEL, 5.4; fd3, 1.6; FL, 15.8; TL, 16.5; FOL, 13.2; FTL, 7.1; TFOL, 21.7; IMT, 1.3; ITL, 2.0; MTTF, 8.0; TFTF, 5.9; MTFF, 8.4; FFTF, 5.4. Character Male Female Body and head Range; mean ± S. D. (N=8) Range; mean ± S. D. (N=3) SVL 29.9–35.3; 32.4±2.2 33.6–38.0; 35.2±2.4 HL 11.1–13.2; 12.3±0.7 12.9–13.6; 13.1±0.4 HW 10.5–13.0; 11.7±0.8 12.2–12.7; 12.5±0.3 MN 10.0–12.1; 10.8±0.7 11.3–12.1; 11.6±0.4 MFE 7.1–9.0; 8.1±0.6 8.2–8.9; 8.5±0.4 MBE 3.2–4.7; 3.9±0.4 3.7–4.8; 4.3±0.6 IFE 5.9–7.5; 6.7±0.5 6.7–7.3; 6.9±0.3 IBE 9.9–11.6; 10.8±0.6 10.7±11.5; 11.2±0.4 IN 2.9–3.8; 3.4±0.3 3.6–3.9; 3.7±0.2 EN 3.0–3.6; 3.2±0.2 3.3–3.9; 3.5±0.3 EL 3.8–5.3; 4.7±0.5 4.8–5.3; 5.0±0.3 NS 1.6–2.3; 2.0±0.3 2.1–2.6; 2.3±0.3 SL 4.7–5.7;5.4±0.4 5.5–5.9; 5.7±0.2 TYD 1.5–2.1; 1.9±0.2 2.0–2.5; 2.2±0.3 TYE 0.9–1.3; 1.1±0.2 1.2–1.5; 1.3±0.2 IUE 3.3–4.3; 3.8±0.3 3.8–4.6; 4.1±0.5 UEW 2.8–3.6; 3.1±0.3 2.9–3.7; 3.3±0.4 Forelimbs HAL 8.5–10.1; 9.5±0.6 9.6–11.2; 10.2±0.9 FLL 5.7–6.9; 6.4±0.4 5.9–7.6; 6.8±0.9 TEL 4.9–6.2; 5.7±0.4 5.7–6.4; 6.1±0.4 fd3 1.5–2.1; 1.8±0.2 1.7–2.0; 1.8±0.2 Hindlimbs FL 15.5–18.7; 17.3±1.1 17.4–20.3; 18.7±1.5 TL 16.5–19.1; 18.0±0.9 19.0–20.9; 19.7±1.0 FOL 13.2–16.2; 14.4±1.0 14.5–16.8; 15.5±1.2 FTL 7.1–8.5; 7.7±0.5 7.5–8.8; 8.1±0.7 TFOL 21.2–24.6; 23.1±1.2 24.4–26.3; 25.1±1.0 IMT 1.2–1.9; 1.5±0.3 1.3–1.6; 1.5±0.2 ITL 1.9–2.9; 2.2±0.4 2.2–2.8; 2.4±0.3 Webbing MTTF 7.8–8.8; 8.2±0.3 9.1–9.7; 9.4±0.3 TFTF 5.8–6.7; 6.3±0.3 5.4–7.3; 6.1±1.0 MTFF 8.1–9.3; 8.7±0.4 9.9–10.7; 10.2±0.5 FFTF 5.4–6.5; 5.9±0.3 5.4–7.2; 6.1±1.0 Variation. The tympanum almost equal to the width of the disc of finger III in males and obviously bigger than the disc of finger III in two female specimens (NHMG 20091002 and NHMG201005008); morphometrics and coloration in the five paratypes are similar to those of the holotype . Measurements of type series are shown in Table 2 . Habitat and distribution. The new species was found at elevations between 200– 500 m . Between May and October vocalizing males were encountered at night (18:00–23:00 h, air temperature <27°C) on bushes and grassy vegetation at a height of 0.5–1.0 m above the ground in secondary karst evergreen forest without nearby waterbodies ( Fig. 1 B). This species is only known from Nonggang National Nature Reserve, including Longzhou and Ningming country (about 22.2333°– 22.4667° N , 106.9500°– 107.0667° E , alt. 216–432 m a.s.l), in southern Guangxi, China .