Amphibians are good indicators of ecosystem health. Updating the information of endemic species in time and understanding their spatial distributions are necessary for the development of integrative conservation strategies and the elucidation of geographic patterns of amphibians. We analyzed the diversity and distributions of the endemic amphibians in China based on a database of specimen records, recently published literature, and field surveys. Two hundred and sixty two endemic species of amphibians, belonging to 59 genera in 12 families and two orders, are recognized. They account for 67% of the total number of amphibian species in China, with the family Megophryidae possessing the largest number of endemics. There are also 17 genera endemic to China. Across provinces, the species richness of endemics shows five levels with a hierarchical diversification. Sichuan has the largest number of endemics, while Heilongjiang and Jilin have no endemic species. Alternatively, whether on the level of endemic genus or species, the highest diversity occurs in the Western Mountains and Plateau Subregion. The distribution ranges of most endemic species cover ≤ 4 provinces or zoogeographic subregions. Additionally, the species richness of endemics along an elevational gradient shows a bell-shaped pattern with the peak around 800 m. Most endemic species are distributed in areas of low to mid elevation(c. 700–1 500 m), while 36 species are distributed up to 3 000 m. Endemic species richness decreases with increasing of elevation range. Species at mid elevations display large range sizes, while species at lower and higher elevations exhibit smaller ranges. Our results are to be beneficial for further exploration of the underlying mechanisms of distributional patterns of amphibians in China. This study highlights a need to promote conservation programs for Chinese endemic amphibians due to their narrow distribution ranges and potential threats.
A new species, Feirana kangxianensis sp. nov., is described from the western Qinling Mountains in Gansu, China. Both morphological and molecular data support its validity. The new species is characterized by： （1） presence of keratinized nuptial spines on the thenar region of the hands in males of the new species, in contrast to F. taihangnica and F. quadranus; （2） of females, the ratios of UEW, INS, NSD and IPTL to SVL ofF. kangxianensis were significantly less than those of F. taihangnica and F. quadranus （P 〈 0.05）, while the ratio of IOS to SVL of the new species was significantly larger than that of the latter two species （P 〈 0.05）; and （3） of males, the ratios of INS, NSD, IPTW to SVL of the new species were significantly less than those ofF. taihangnica and F. quadranus （P 〈 0.05）, while the ratio of HL to SVL of the former was significantly larger than that of the latter, and the ratio of HW to SVL ofF. kangxianensis was significantly larger than that of F. taihangnica but less than that of F. quadranus, the ratio of OPTL to SVL of F. kangxianensis was significantly less than that of F. taihangnica but larger than that of F. quadranus （P 〈 0.05）. The three species of Feirana can be easily identified and significantly differ from each other by the canonical discriminant analyses with high correct classification （〉92%）. Concurrently, based on partial mitochondrial ND2 gene sequences, the result of the molecular phylogenetic analyses of the Feirana indicates that the F. kangxianensis is sister to F. taihangnica.
