Nanorana yunnanensis (Anderson, 1879)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Dicroglossidae > Subfamily: Dicroglossinae > Genus: Nanorana > Species: Nanorana yunnanensis

Rana yunnanensis Anderson, 1879 "1878", Anat. Zool. Res.: 839. Syntypes: BMNH 2 specimens (now long lost; not mentioned by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 21); BMNH 1947.2.3.76 (lectotype of Rana phrynoides Boulenger, 1917) designated neotype by Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 45. Type locality: "Hotha [= Husa], 5,000 feet above the sea", Yunnan, China; neotype from Tongchuan Fu [= Dongchuan Shi], Yunnan, China. Huang, Hu, Wang, Song, Zhou, and Jiang, 2016, Integrative Zool., 11: 146, invalidly (Art. 74.5) designated a replacement neotype, CIBYN09060612, from "Husa (N24°47′, E97°89′), Longchuan County, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China" in order to keep the name Rana yunnanensis from being a senior synonym of Rana phrynoides Boulenger, 1917. However, the Code requires that replacing a neotype be done solely through application to the International Commission (DRF). While for purpose of this catalog, and just for the moment, I follow Huang et al (2016) but note that if Huang et al. are correct about the species delimitations, what Huang et al. refer to as Gynandropaa yunnanensis has a type which is of Rana phrynoides, which means that the name Rana yunnanensis actually applies to what is currently referred to as Rana phrynoides, and the oldest name for Nanorana yunnanensis of this catalog should be referred to as Nanorana bourreti. 

Rana (Rana) yunnanensis — Boulenger, 1920, Rec. Indian Mus., 20: 8.

Rana (Paa) yunnanensis — Dubois, 1975, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 3, Zool., 324: 1098; Dubois, 1976, Cah. Nepal., Doc., 6: 24; Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 43.

Rana (Paa) bourreti Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 46. Holotype: MNHNP 1948.128 (= LZUH 3.59), by original designation. Type locality: "Chapa [= Sa Pa], Vietnam, 22° 20′ N, 103° 50′ E". Synonymy by Che, Hu, Zhou, Murphy, Papenfuss, Chen, Rao, Li, and Zhang, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 50: 7; Huang, Hu, Wang, Song, Zhou, and Jiang, 2016, Integrative Zool., 11: 145. 

Paa (Paa) yunnanensis — Fei, Ye, and Huang, 1990, Key to Chinese Amph.: 158; Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China: 279; Fei and Ye, 2001, Color Handbook Amph. Sichuan: 187.

Paa (Gynandropaa) yunnanensis — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 319.

Paa (Gynandropaa) bourreti — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 319.

Rana yunnanensis — Zhao and Adler, 1993, Herpetol. China: 151.

Nanorana yunnanensis — Chen, Murphy, Lathrop, Ngo, Orlov, Ho, and Somorjai, 2005, Herpetol. J., 15: 239, by implication; Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 367.

Nanorana bourreti — Chen, Murphy, Lathrop, Ngo, Orlov, Ho, and Somorjai, 2005, Herpetol. J., 15: 239, by implication; Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 367; Huang, Zhou, Wang, Liu, and Jiang, 2009, Acta Zootaxon. Sinica, 34: 385.

Gynandropaa (Gynandropaa) yunnanensis — Ohler and Dubois, 2006, Zoosystema, 28: 781.

Nanorana (Chaparana) yunnanensis — Che, Zhou, Hu, Papenfuss, Wake, and Zhang, 2010, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Suppl. Inform., doi:10.1073/pnas.1008415107/-/DCSupplemental: 2 Hofmann, Baniya, Litvinchuk, Miehe, Li, and Schmidt, 2019, Ecol. Evol., 9: 14506.

Gynandropaa yunnanensis — Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Herpetol. Sinica, 12: 25.

Gynandropaa bourreti — Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Herpetol. Sinica, 12: 25.

Common Names

Yunnan Paa Frog (Paa yunnanensis: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 103).

Yunnan Spiny Frog (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 220; Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 26).

Ninglang Paa Frog (Nanorana liui [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 102).

Vocal Sacless Spiny Frog (Nanorana liui [no longer recognized]: Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 218).

Bourret's Paa Frog (Nanorana bourreti [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 102).

Bourret's Frog (Nanorana bourreti [no longer recognized]: Chan-ard, 2003, Photograph. Guide Amph. Thailand: 124).

Bourret's Spiny Frog (Nanorana bourreti [no longer recognized]: Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 448; Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 26). 

Yunnan Mountain Frog (Zug, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 653: 24). 

Distribution

Lao Cai, Son La, Cao Bang, Lai Chau, and Nghe An provinces, northern Vietnam, from there to the west and northwest throughout the southern third of Yunnan (Longchuan, Yingjiang, Tengchong, Lianghe, Lvchun, Jingdong, Yongde, Xinping and Zhenyuan), China, and northern Thailand (Chiang Mai); reported from the Fanjing Mountains of northeastern Guizhou, China; records from Myanmar require confirmation; expected in northern Laos. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: China, People's Republic of, Thailand, Vietnam

Likely/Controversially Present: Laos, Myanmar

Comment

Discussed (as Rana phrynoides and Rana yunnanensis) by Boulenger, 1920, Rec. Indian Mus., 20: 69, 73; Liu, 1950, Fieldiana, Zool. Mem., 2: 272–277; Pope, 1931, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 61: 499–500; and Bourret, 1942, Batr. Indochine: 293–295, 299–301. See comment under Nanorana liui. See accounts by Yang, 1991, Amph. Fauna of Yunnan: 161–163; and Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China: 286; and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 219–221. Fei and Ye, 2001, Color Handbook Amph. Sichuan: 187, provided a brief account and illustration. See also brief account by Zhao and Yang, 1997, Amph. Rept. Hengduan Mountains Region: 100–101. Nguyen, Ho, and Nguyen, 2005, Checklist Amph. Rept. Vietnam: 25, provided specific localities for Vietnam and (p. 149) a photograph. Yang, 2008, in Yang and Rao (ed.), Amph. Rept. Yunnan: 87–88, provided a brief account (as Paa yunnanensis) for Yunnan, China. Reported (as Rana bourreti) for Thailand by Khonsue and Thirakhupt, 2001, Nat. Hist. J. Chulalongkorn Univ., 1: 72. Chan-ard, 2003, Photograph. Guide Amph. Thailand: 124–125, provided a very brief account (as Rana bourreti), map for Thailand, and photograph. Nguyen, Ho, and Nguyen, 2005, Checklist Amph. Rept. Vietnam: 24, provided specific localities (as Paa bourreti) for Vietnam. Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 339, noted that this species (Paa liui) may be a junior synonym of Paa sichuanensis. Yang, 1991, Amph. Fauna of Yunnan: 137–138 (as Rana muta), Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 218–219, provided a brief account, figure, and map (as Rana liui). Fei and Ye, 2001, Color Handbook Amph. Sichuan: 186, provided a brief account and illustration (as Paa liui). See also brief account by Zhao and Yang, 1997, Amph. Rept. Hengduan Mountains Region: 92–93 (as Rana bourreti). Yang, 2008, in Yang and Rao (ed.), Amph. Rept. Yunnan: 84–85, provided a brief account (as Paa liui) for Yunnan, China. See illustration, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status (as Paa liui and Paa yunnanensis) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 491, 492. Das and Dutta, 2007, Hamadryad, 31: 154–181, noted no larval descriptions in the literature (as Nanorana bourreti). Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 3: 1421–1429, provided accounts (as Paa liui and Paa yunnanensis) for China, figures, and map, and included this species in their Paa yunnanensis group. Chen and Ye, 2009, Zool. Res., Kunming, 30: 662–670, reported on a predictive distribution of the species in Yunnan, China, apparently in the sense of including Nanorana bourreti in synonymy. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 369 (as Paa liui) and page 380 (as Paa yunnanensis), provided a brief account including photographs of specimens and habitat. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 449, 451, provided accounts (as Gynandropaa liui: 449; and Gynandropaa yunnanensis: 451), photographs, and range maps for China. Nanorana bourreti was considered a synonym of Nanorana yunnanensis by Che, Hu, Zhou, Murphy, Papenfuss, Chen, Rao, Li, and Zhang, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 50: 71, but revalidated on the basis of molecular evidence by Huang, Zhou, Wang, Liu, and Jiang, 2009, Acta Zootaxon. Sinica, 34: 385–390, only to be resynonymized by Huang, Hu, Wang, Song, Zhou, and Jiang, 2016, Integrative Zool., 11: 145. Chan-ard, Cota, and Makchai, 2011, Amph. E. Region Thailand: 136, detailed the range in Thailand. Chen, 2011, Stud. Phylogeogr. Paa yunnanensis: 1–129, reported on molecular phylogeography and considered Paa sichuanensis, Paa bourreti, and Paa liui as synonyms of Paa yunnanensis, although this was not followed by subsequent authors, with the exception of Paa bourreti. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 448, provided an account (as Gynandropaa bourreti), photographs, and a range map for China. Zhang, Chen, Murphy, Che, Pang, Hu, Luo, Wu, Ye, and Zhang, Mol. Ecol., 19: 3406–3420, reported on mtDNA biogeography within China. Zhang, 2017, Amph. Rept. Fanjing Mts.: 149–152, provided taxonomic and natural history information for the Fanjing Mountains population in northeastern Guizhou, China. Pham and Nguyen, 2018, VNU J. Sci. Nat. Sci. Tech., 34: 10–16, provided a record for Son La Province, Vietnam. Niyomwan, Srisom, and Pawangkhanant, 2019, Field Guide Amph. Thailand: 292–293, provided a brief account (description, photographs, habitat, and range) for Thailand (in Thai). Makchai, Chuaynkern, Safoowong, Chuachat, and Cota, 2020, Amph. N. Thailand: 72–73, provided photographs, a brief account for Thailand, and a range map. Luong, Pham, Do, Hoang, Phan, Nguyen, Ziegler, and Le, 2021, Check List, 17: 445–458, provided records from Lai Chau Province, Vietnam, and discussed the range. Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 26, recognized Nanorana bourreti and Nanorana yunnanensis as distinct, but confusingly also wrote "Taxonomic distinctiveness of this species from Nanorana yunnanensis (Anderson, 1879) requires further confirmation". Inasmuch as no one has provided explicit evidence to refute the synonymy of these two taxa by Che, Hu, Zhou, Murphy, Papenfuss, Chen, Rao, Li, and Zhang, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 50: 7, and Huang, Hu, Wang, Song, Zhou, and Jiang, 2016, Integrative Zool., 11: 145, the synonymy is here preserved. Zug, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 653: 24, briefly discussed identification, habitat, and range in Myanmar although records from Myanmar requires confirmation. Thongproh, Chunskul, Makchai, Cota, Safoowong, Duengkae, Duangjai, Thitichayaporn, Chuaynkern, and Chuaynkern, 2023, Zootaxa, 5263: 365–388, provided genetic confirmation for the Thai records, an mtDNA tree of this species and close relatives, and described larval morphology. 

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