Pregnant mountain creature with ‘triangular’ head found in China. It’s a new species
In the mountains of southern China, a pregnant creature with a “triangular” head perched in a shrub near a stream. Its “large,” multicolored eyes scanned the surrounding foliage, but it wasn’t the only one looking around.
Passing scientists noticed the animal — and discovered a new species.
Researchers hiked into the mountainous forests of a nature reserve in Yunnan Province several times in 2023 and 2024 to survey wildlife. The surrounding area was known for its “extremely high levels of biodiversity,” but the park’s amphibian and reptile diversity remained “substantially underestimated,” according to a study published Feb. 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
During their visits, researchers encountered a pair of unfamiliar-looking frogs, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Leptobrachella albomarginata, or the white-lined leaf litter toad.
White-lined leaf litter toads are considered “small”-sized, reaching just over an inch in length, the study said. They have “triangular” heads with “large” copper and silver eyes, “short” snouts and “oval-shaped” nostrils. The tips of their fingers and toes are “rounded” and “slightly swollen.”
Photos show the brown coloring of the new species. Seen from above, its back has several V-shaped markings outlined in white. Seen from below, its belly has “black and bluish-white marbling all over.”
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin words “albus,” meaning “white,” and “marginis,” meaning “border” or “lining,” because of its white-edged markings.
White-lined leaf litter toads live near mountain streams at elevations of about 4,200 to 5,200 feet, the study said. Researchers suspect the new species breeds in April because they found a pregnant female frog around that time.
So far, the new species has only been found at a nature reserve in southwestern Yunnan Province, a roughly 2,060-mile drive southwest from Beijing and near the border with Myanmar.
The new species was identified by its coloring, body proportions, eyes, tongue shape, toe webbing and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had “obvious genetic divergence” from other related species.
The research team included Yun-He Wu, Zhong-Bin Yu, Shen-Pin Yang, Zheng-Pan Duan, An-Ru Zuo, Ding-Can Zhang, Felista Kasyoka Kilunda, Robert Murphy and Jing Che.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Pregnant mountain creature with ‘triangular’ head found in China. It’s a new species."
