Raorchestes longchuanensis (Yang and Li, 1978)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Rhacophoridae > Subfamily: Rhacophorinae > Genus: Raorchestes > Species: Raorchestes longchuanensis

Philautus longchuanensis Yang and Li In Yang, Su, and Li, 1978, Amph. Rept. Gaoligongshan: 37. Syntypes: KIZ 17 specimens. Type localities: Jangjiang and Longchuan, Yunnan Province, China, 1350-1600 m elevation.

Philautus longchuanensis Yang and Li In Yang, Su, and Li, 1979, Acta Zootaxon. Sinica, 4: 186. Holotype: KIZ 74110046, by original designation. Type locality: "Gongdong ..., Longchuan Xian ... , altitude 1600 m", Yunnan, China.

Philautus (Philautus) longchuanensis — Bossuyt and Dubois, 2001, Zeylanica, 6: 55.

Aquixalus longchuanensis — Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 717. See comment under Philautus.

Pseudophilautus longchuanensis — Li, Che, Murphy, Zhao, Zhao, Rao, and Zhang, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 53: 511.

Raorchestes longchuanensis — Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta, and Bossuyt, 2010, Curr. Sci., Bangalore, 98: 1120, by implication.

Liuixalus longchuanensis — Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 512.

Common Names

Longchuan Bubble-nest Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 112).

Longchuan Small Treefrog (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 260).

陇川灌树蛙 (Chinese: Wang, Ren, Chen, Lyu, Guo, Jiang, Chen, Li, Guo, Wang, and Che, 2020, Biodiversity Sci., 28: App. 1: 13). 

Longchuan Shrub Frog (Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 60). 

Longchuan Shrubfrog (Zug, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 653: 44).

Distribution

Gaoligong Shan and Hengduanshan mountains, Yunnan, China, 1350–1600 m elevation; in adjacent northern Vietnam (Lai Chau Province); northeastern Myanmar (Kachin and Sagaing); and Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces, northern Thailand; tentatively reported from Bhutan but needs confirmation.  

Geographic Occurrence

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

Likely/Controversially Present: Bhutan

Comment

Closely related to Philautus gracilipes and Philautus rhododiscus (now Theloderma rhododiscus), according to the original publication, where the molecular markers, advertisement call, and external morphology were detailed. Not addressed by Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 71–73. Yang, 1991, Amph. Fauna of Yunnan: 192–193, and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 260–261, provided accounts. See also brief account by Zhao and Yang, 1997, Amph. Rept. Hengduan Mountains Region: 119–120. Orlov, Murphy, Ananjeva, Ryabov, and Ho, 2002, Russ. J. Herpetol., 9: 95, reported the Vietnam component of distribution but did not reference voucher specimens. Nguyen, Ho, and Nguyen, 2005, Checklist Amph. Rept. Vietnam: 35, provided specific localities for Vietnam. Yang, 2008, in Yang and Rao (ed.), Amph. Rept. Yunnan: 104, provided a brief account for Yunnan, China. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 2: 717–719, provided an account (as Aquixalus longchuanensis) and spot map. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 431, provided a brief account (as Aquixalus longchuanensis). Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 512, provided an account (as Liuixalus longchuanensis), photographs, and a range map for China. See comment under Theloderma andersoni.  Yu, Liu, Hou, Li, and Yang, 2019, Zootaxa, 4577: 381–391, reported the species from Mengla County, extreme southern Yunnan, China, and noted that at least some of the previous records of Raorchestes longchuanensis in southern Yunnan may also apply to Raorchestes parvulus. Wangyal, Bower, Sherub, Tshewang, Wangdi, Rinchen, Puntsho, Tashi, Koirala, Bhandari, Phuntsho, Koirala, Ghalley, Chaida, Tenzin, Powrel, Tshewang, Raika, Jamtsho, Kinley, Gyeltshen, Tashi, Nidup, Wangdi, Phuentsho, Norbu, Wangdi, Wangchuk, Tobgay, Dorji, and Das, 2020, Herpetol. Rev., 51: 794, tentatively identified a photograph as of this species from Trasjouangtse District, Bhutan. Al-Razi, Maria, Hasan, and Muzaffar, 2020, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 14 (1: e225): 119–131, reported the species from northeastern Bangladesh on the Indian border, based on morphology and DNA analysis; this being based on misidentified Raorchestes cangyuanensis according to Lalronunga, Vanramliana, Lalramliana, and Lalhmingliani, 2021, Zootaxa, 4974: 385 (who also discussed other misidentifications imbedded in the literature). Poyarkov, Nguyen, Popov, Geissler, Pawangkhanant, Neang, Suwannapoom, and Orlov, 2021, Russ. J. Herpetol., 28 (3A): 60, suggested that Vietnam record requires confirmation. Wu, Suwannapoom, Poyarkov, Gao, Karuno, and Yuan, 2022, Russ. J. Herpetol., 29: 1–18, provided the first records from Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai provinces, Thailand, genetically confirmed. Köhler, Dost, Than, Ohler, Thammachoti Charunrochana, Chuaynkern, Chuaynkern, and Geiss, 2025, Zootaxa, 5613: 47–81, provided the advertisement call as part of a revision of the species in Thailand and Myanmar.    

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