Oreolalax Explained

Oreolalax is a genus of frogs in the family Megophryidae. The common name for the genus is toothed toads. Most member species are endemic to southwestern China, with at least two species in northern Vietnam (Oreolalax sterlingae), and the newly discovered Oreolalax adelphos in 2024, and possibly extending into adjacent Laos.^[1] There is also a population in Arunachal Pradesh (Northeast India) that has not yet been assigned to a species, although it may rather be assigned to the genus Scutiger.

Species

The genus contains the following species:

1. Oreolalax adelphos Nguyen, Tapley, Kane, Tran, Cui & Rowley, 2024^[2]
2. Oreolalax chuanbeiensis Tian, 1983
3. Oreolalax granulosus Fei, Ye & Chen, 1990
4. Oreolalax jingdongensis Ma, Yang & Li, 1983
5. Oreolalax liangbeiensis Liu & Fei, 1979
6. Oreolalax lichuanensis Hu & Fei, 1979
7. Oreolalax longmenmontis Hou, Shi, Hu, Deng, Jiang, Xie & Wang, 2020
8. Oreolalax major (Liu & Hu, 1960)
9. Oreolalax multipunctatus Wu, Zhao, Inger & Shaffer, 1993
10. Oreolalax nanjiangensis Fei & Ye, 1999
11. Oreolalax omeimontis (Liu & Hu, 1960)
12. Oreolalax pingii (Liu, 1943)
13. Oreolalax popei (Liu, 1947)
14. Oreolalax puxiongensis Liu & Fei, 1979
15. Oreolalax rhodostigmatus Hu & Fei, 1979
16. Oreolalax rugosus (Liu, 1943)
17. Oreolalax schmidti (Liu, 1947)
18. Oreolalax sterlingae Nguyen, Phung, Le, Ziegler & Böhme, 2013
19. Oreolalax weigoldi (Vogt, 1924)
20. Oreolalax xiangchengensis Fei & Huang, 1983

Endemic ranges

Many Oreolalax species are endemic to highly restricted geographical areas in the Eastern Himalayas, especially in Sichuan, China. The ranges often overlap with those of Scutiger species.

• Yunnan, China
  • Oreolalax granulosus: Ailao Mountains, Jingdong County, Yunnan
  • Oreolalax jingdongensis: Ailao Mountains, Jingdong County, Yunnan
• Sichuan, China
  • Oreolalax nanjiangensis: Mount Guangwu (光雾山), Nanjiang County, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax chuanbeiensis: Pingwu County and Mao County, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax liangbeiensis: Puxiong (普雄镇), Yuexi County, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax longmenmontis: Pengzhou, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax puxiongensis: Puxiong (普雄镇), Yuexi County, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax pingii: Zhaojue County and Yuexi County, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax multipunctatus: Emeishan and Hongya counties, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax omeimontis: Emeishan and Hongya counties, Sichuan
  • Oreolalax major: central Sichuan
  • Oreolalax schmidti: central Sichuan
  • Oreolalax weigoldi: Washan, Sichuan

Notes and References

1. Nguyen, Luan Thanh; Tapley, Benjamin; Kane, Daniel; Tran, Tuyet-Dzung Thi; Cui, Jiaxin; Rowley, Jodi J. L. (2024). "A new Oreolalax (Anura: Megophryidae) from the Hoang Lien Range, northwest Vietnam". Zootaxa 5514 (6): 501–524.
2. Nguyen, Luan Thanh; Tapley, Benjamin; Kane, Daniel; Tran, Tuyet-Dzung Thi; Cui, Jiaxin; Rowley, Jodi J. L. (2024). "A new Oreolalax (Anura: Megophryidae) from the Hoang Lien Range, northwest Vietnam". Zootaxa 5514 (6): 501–524.