Chenqi Lu

• State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology

The Hengduan Mountains (HDM) harbor the richest temperate diversity in the Northern Hemisphere, yet our understanding of how this exceptionally diverse biota evolved remains obscure. Large-scale historical biogeographic analyses of 851 terrestrial vertebrate species and their relatives (totaling 4862 species) reveal multiple evolutionary pathways f...

The Gaoligong Mountains lie at the intersection of three global biodiversity hotspots. In recent years, with the continuous deepening of fieldwork in the region, studies have increasingly indicated that the amphibian diversity of this region remains poorly understood. During herpetological surveys in 2023, a series of Amolops specimens were collect...

Aims: In order to support conservation efforts for the endangered Jiangxi giant salamander, we conducted a comprehensive long-term field monitoring project to assess population dynamics, species distribution, and potential threats to the species. This is the first data report on Andrias population status in the wild in China. The findings from this...

Identifying and protecting hotspots of endemism and species richness is crucial for mitigating the global biodiversity crisis. However, our understanding of spatial diversity patterns is far from complete, which severely limits our ability to conserve biodiversity hotspots. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of amphibian species diversity in...

The torrent frogs of the genus Amolops represent a great anuran diversification in southern China and Southeast Asia. Previous studies have shown that, the diversity of this genus still remains underestimated. During herpetological surveys from 2021 to 2022, several Amolops specimens were collected from the international border regions of southwest...

To date, 10 species of the genus Microhyla have been recorded in China, of which six were distributed in Yunnan Province. Microhyla hmongorum Hoang, Nguyen, Phan, Pham, Ninh, Wang, Jiang, Ziegler, and Nguyen, 2022 was also speculated to be distributed in Xishuangbana, Yunnan Province, China. However, there is no evidence of documentation of M. hmon...

While taxonomic research of the genus Diploderma has made considerable progress in the past decade, far less attention was given to the arboreal species in the subtropical areas. Combining mitochondrial genetic and morphological data, we evaluated the current taxonomic hypotheses of one of the subtropical, arboreal species complexes, the D. fasciat...

Effective conservation of threatened biota relies on accurate assessments and scientific guidance. As an unfortunate example, Chinese giant salamanders (Andrias, CGS) remain critically endangered in nature. Misguided conservation efforts, e.g., commercial propagation and releasing of millions of likely non-indigenous or interspecific hybrids, have...

及时总结分类学变动有助于推进生物多样性研究的深入开展, 同时为多样性保护提供了可参考的物种名录, 便于管理政策及时调整。近年来中国两栖、爬行动物物种多样性研究发展迅猛, 对其认识得以不断深入。在此, 本文汇总了2020年1月1日–12月31日相关研究资料, 分析、讨论了该年度中国两栖、爬行动物分类变动情况及特点。结果显示, 2020年, 中国两栖动物新描述1属, 恢复2属有效性; 新描述41种, 恢复1种, 新增国家纪录4种; 移除6种在我国的分布纪录。另外, 中国爬行动物新纪录1属, 移除1属, 新描述30种, 恢复2种, 新增国家纪录4种; 移除2种在我国的分布纪录。两栖动物新物种描述集中在两个科, 角蟾科 (23种) 和蛙科 (13种); 爬行动物新物种描述比较分散, 最多的是鬣蜥科...

The Himalaya are among the youngest and highest mountains in the world, but the exact timing of their uplift and origins of their biodiversity are still in debate. The Himalayan region is a relatively small area but with exceptional diversity and endemism. One common hypothesis to explain the rich montane diversity is uplift-driven diversification–...