Resolving taxonomic ambiguities in extant Himalayan lazy toads: A new species of the genus Scutiger (Anura, Megophryidae) from eastern Nepal

  • Sylvia Hofmann Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, 53113 Bonn, Germany
  • Annemarie Ohler Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, MNHN-CNRS-SU-EPHE-UA, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
  • Chitra B. Baniya Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kritipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Alain Dubois Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, MNHN-CNRS-SU-EPHE-UA, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
  • Morris Flecks Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, 53113 Bonn, Germany
  • Daniel Jablonski Department of Zoology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Joachim Schmidt General and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of Rostock, 18055 Rostock, Germany
  • Christophe Dufresnes Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, MNHN-CNRS-SU-EPHE-UA, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.989.2893
Keywords: Amphibia, Himalaya, molecular systematics, morphology, Scutiger, taxonomy

Abstract

The biodiversity of the Himalaya remains significantly understudied and, at the same time, is increasingly threatened by habitat loss due to rising anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Lazy Toads of the genus Scutiger are endemic to the Himalaya-Tibet orogen and form a diverse and characteristic component of the Himalayan montane zone. In our study, we re-assess material of Scutiger sikimmensis s. lat. using both molecular and morphological data. Our findings support the description of a new species, Scutiger khumbu sp. nov., with the nominotypical subspecies distributed in the Nepalese Khumbu Himal, and the subspecies Scutiger khumbu makalu subsp. nov. from the adjacent Makalu range

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Published
2025-05-06
How to Cite
Hofmann, S., Ohler, A., Baniya, C. B., Dubois, A., Flecks, M., Jablonski, D., Schmidt, J., & Dufresnes, C. (2025). Resolving taxonomic ambiguities in extant Himalayan lazy toads: A new species of the genus Scutiger (Anura, Megophryidae) from eastern Nepal. European Journal of Taxonomy, 989(1), 189–214. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.989.2893
Issue
Vol. 989 (2025)
Section
Research article

Copyright (c) 2025 Sylvia Hofmann, Annemarie Ohler, Chitra B. Baniya, Alain Dubois, Morris Flecks, Daniel Jablonski, Joachim Schmidt, Christophe Dufresnes

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