Bombina maxima (Boulenger, 1905)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Bombinatoridae > Genus: Bombina > Species: Bombina maxima

Bombinator maximus Boulenger, 1905, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 7, 15: 188. Syntypes: BMNH 1947.2.25.66-68 (formerly 1905.1.30.69-71), according to museum records and Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 70. Type locality: "near Tong Chuan Fu in Yunnan (altitude about 6000 feet)", China.

Bombina maxima — Stejneger, 1905, Science, 22: 502; Schmidt, 1927, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 54: 556.

Bombina (Glandula) maxima — Tian and Hu, 1985, Acta Herpetol. Sinica, Chengdu, N.S.,, 4 (3): 219–224.

Bombina (Grobina) maxima — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 98; Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007, J. Herpetol., 41: 373.

Bombina maxima maxima — Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007, J. Herpetol., 41: 365.

 

Common Names

Yunnan Firebelly Toad (Bombina maxima: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 38).

Large-webbed Bell Toad (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 60).

Distribution

Yunnan, China, and likely into into Myanmar.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: China, People's Republic of

Endemic: China, People's Republic of

Comment

Literature prior to 1960 and sporadically from then to the present may refer to populations now allocated to Bombina fortinuptialis, Bombia lichuanensis, and Bombina microdeladigitora, which, are now, controversially, considered distinct species. Accounts provided by Bourret, 1942, Batr. Indochine: 154–155; Pope, 1931, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 61: 435–436; Liu, 1950, Fieldiana, Zool. Mem., 2: 110–117; Liu and Hu, 1961, Tailless Amph. China: 38–41; Yang, 1991, Amph. Fauna of Yunnan: 42–46; Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China 113; Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 60; and Fei and Ye, 2001, Color Handbook Amph. Sichuan: 99. Bombina microdeligitora was considered a synonym (and color variant) of Bombina maxima by Stugren, 1986, Stud. Univ. Babes-Bolyai, Biol., 31: 40, but recognition was continued by Zhao and Adler, 1993, Herpetol. China: 115. Herrmann, Kühnel, and Kabisch, 1997, in Böhme et al. (eds.), Herpetol. Bonn.: 161–168, compared Bombina microdeladigitora, Bombina maxima and Bombina fortinuptialis. Ohler, Marquis, Swan, and Grosjean, 2000, Herpetozoa, Wien, 13: 71, noted that records of Bombina maxima from Vietnam are referable to Bombina microdeladigitora, and provided a brief account and illustration. Bogaerts, 2000, Podarcis, 1: 44–49, also provided a brief account. Herrmann, Kühnel, and Kabisch, 1997, in Böhme et al. (eds.), Herpetol. Bonn.: 161–168, compared this species with Bombina fortinuptialis and Bombina microdeladigitora. See brief account by Zhao and Yang, 1997, Amph. Rept. Hengduan Mountains Region: 37–38. Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007, J. Herpetol., 41: 365–377, reported on phylogenetic relationships and confirmed the synonymy of Bombina fortinuptialis and Bombina microdeladigitora. Yang, 2008, in Yang and Rao (ed.), Amph. Rept. Yunnan: 22–24, provided brief accounts for Yunnan, China. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 70–75, provided an account, illustration, and dot map, and continued the recognition of Bombina microdeladigitora, but that volume appears to have been written prior to the revision by Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007. Zheng, Fu, and Li, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 52: 70–83, continued recognition of Bombina microdeladigitora, Bombina lichuanensis, and Bombina fortinuptialis, and provided molecular evidence consistent with this view. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 108, provided a brief account including photographs of specimens and habitat. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 133, provided accounts, photographs, and maps. Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007, J. Herpetol., 41: 365-377, reported on phylogenetic relationships and confirmed the synonymy of Bombina fortinuptialis and Bombina microdeladigitora. See image, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 155. Zheng, Fu, and Li, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 52: 70-83, continued recognition of Bombina microdeladigitora, Bombina lichuanensis, and Bombina fortinuptialis, and provided molecular evidence consistent with this view. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 70-75, provided accounts, illustrations, and dot maps, and continued the recognition of Bombina microdeladigitora, but that volume appears to have been written prior to the revision by Yu, Yang, Zhang, and Rao, 2007. Pabijan, Wandycz, Hofman, Węcek, Piwczyński, and Szymura, 2013, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 69: 63-74, discussed previous taxonomy and considered the allopatric populations named Bombina microdeladigitora, Bombina lichuanensis,and Bombina fortinuptialis to be conspecific, although with the caveat that additional work may require their resurrection. These taxa are recognized in ASW due to the controversial nature of these allopatric taxa. 

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