Wu Yun-He, Pawangkhanant Parinya, Chen Jin-Min, Gao Wei, Suwannapoom Chatmongkon, Che Jing
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan China.
Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao Phayao Thailand.
Biodivers Data J. 2021 Oct 14;9:e74097. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.9.e74097. eCollection 2021.
Thailand is considered a global biodiversity hotspot that is known to harbour a striking diversity of endemic species. However, several research studies have determined that the level of amphibian diversity in the country has been significantly underestimated. The megophryid genus Smith, 1925 is currently known to include 89 species that are primarily distributed throughout southern China and Southeast Asia; however, only seven species have been found in Thailand.
Based on an integrative approach encompassing genetic and morphological analyses, we have concluded that the population identified from Chiang Rai Province of Thailand is conspecific with (Fei, Ye, and Li, 1990). Importantly, this is the first confirmation record of this species, based on molecular and morphological evidence in Thailand. The discovery of this species reaffirms that the diversity within the genus has been underestimated with many species yet to be discovered. In addition, the findings of our study further highlight the lack of existing knowledge on amphibian taxonomy and an underestimation of the biodiversity that exists along these national border areas.
泰国被认为是全球生物多样性热点地区，拥有大量独特的特有物种。然而，多项研究表明，该国两栖动物的多样性水平被严重低估。角蟾属（Smith，1925）目前已知包含89个物种，主要分布在中国南部和东南亚地区；然而，在泰国仅发现了7个物种。
基于遗传和形态分析相结合的方法，我们得出结论，从泰国清莱府鉴定出的种群与（费、叶和李，1990）为同种。重要的是，这是基于分子和形态证据在泰国首次确认该物种的记录。该物种的发现再次证明，该属内的多样性被低估，仍有许多物种有待发现。此外，我们的研究结果进一步凸显了两栖动物分类学现有知识的匮乏，以及对这些边境地区生物多样性的低估。
