Kai Wang

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Assistant Researcher at Kunming Institute of Zoology

Despite the long-term establishment and the species richness of the knobby newt genus Tylototriton, taxonomy of its members remained controversial, and little is known about the reproductive biology of its members, especially about their courtship behavior. Here we provide information on the reproductive biology of the Tiannan Knobby Newt, T. yangi...

Although the genus Japalura s.l. has long been recognized as paraphyletic based on limited genetic sampling, its problematic taxonomy has not been revised, and phylogenetic relationships among the majority of congeners remain unknown. Here we utilize a densely sampled dataset of both multilocus genetic and morphological data to provide the first ph...

We updated the checklists of extant, native amphibians and reptiles of China based on the previously published checklist of reptiles in 2015, the online checklist of amphibians on the database AmphibiaChina, newly published data as of December 2019, and previously uncollected literature prior to 2015. In total, the amphibian fauna of China consists...

Cryptic diversity not only introduces confusion to taxonomic studies, but it also poses major challenges to conservation and environmental legislation. One such troubling group are the Mountain Dragons in the genus Diploderma in Southwest China. Previous studies have suggested that the genus contains considerable cryptic diversity, particularly in...

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...

Based on both morphological and genetic data, we describe a new cryptic species of Calotes from southeastern Xizang Autonomous Region, China. The new species was confused with C. paulus, and it is morphologically most similar to members of the C. paulus complex (namely C. paulus, C. sinyik, and C. zolaiking), but the new species shows considerable...

Despite continuous progress made on the taxonomy of the genus Tropidophorus, the Lao Water Skink, T. laotus, is only known from brief descriptions of its syntypes in historical literature. Here we designate a lectotype and paralectotype of the species, redescribe the species based on the type series and newly collected topotypes, provide the first...

Based on morphological and genetic data, we describe a new species of Tropidophorus from the tropical karst landscape in southeastern Yunnan Province, China, close to the Vietnam border. Phylogenetically, the new species forms a clade with T. baviensis, T. murphyi, and T. hainanus, with p-distances ranging from 4.7-5.1% for the 16S gene and 3.9-6.8...

Background The genus of Polypedates Tschudi, 1838 currently comprises 25 recognised species with four of these species reported in Yunnan, China. Dubois (1987) speculated the distribution of P. teraiensis in China; however, there was no study carried out to confirm its distribution in the region. New information We herein describe P. teraiensis as...

Mountain Dragons of the genus Diploderma has experienced rapid taxonomic change in the recent years. The fast rate of taxonomic changes often leads to insufficient data for newly described species on their morphological variation, especially regarding sexual dimorphism, as well as the missing information on their natural history and conservation st...

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...

Owing to the harsh terrain, few biodiversity surveys have been carried out in the Pan-Himalaya Region. Among the understudied taxa from this region, Jerdon’s forest lizard, Calotes jerdoni, is believed to have a wide distribution, from northeast India to southwestern China. However, given the heterogeneous environment across its range and the lack...

We describe a unique new species and genus of agamid lizard from the karstic massifs of Khammouan Province, central Laos. Laodracon carsticola Gen. et sp. nov. is an elusive medium-sized lizard (maximum snout-vent length 101 mm) specifically adapted to life on limestone rocks and pinnacles. To assess the phylogenetic position of the new genus among...

DNA barcoding has greatly facilitated studies of taxonomy, biodiversity, biological conservation, and ecology. Here, we establish a reliable DNA barcoding library for Chinese snakes, unveiling hidden diversity with implications for taxonomy, and provide a standardized tool for conservation management. Our comprehensive study includes 1,638 cytochro...

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...

Aims: Yunnan Province has the richest biodiversity among all administrative regions in China. Therefore, having detailed, updated checklists of different fauna and flora groups of Yunnan are particularly important for the conservation and scientific utilization of biodiversity in China. Methods: Based on published literatures and examination of re...

A new species of Diploderma is described from the upper Salween River Valley in eastern Tibet, China based on morphological and genetic data. The new species is morphologically most similar and phylogenetically closely related to D. laeviventre, but it can be easily diagnosed by having distinct conical scales on the post rictal region of the head,...

Combining the results from morphological and molecular analyses, we explore the taxonomy of the genus Achalinus from Southwest China. As a result, we describe two new species, A. panzhihuaensis sp. nov. and A. yangdatongi sp. nov. from southern Sichuan and southern Yunnan provinces, respectively, and we record a new country record, A. emilyae, from...

Recent studies have highlighted the underestimated diversity of the genus Diploderma Hallowell, 1861 in the Hengduan Mountain Region in Southwest China, but much of the region remains poorly surveyed for reptile diversity. In this study we describe two new species of Diploderma from the upper Jinsha and middle Yalong River Valley, based on evaluati...

While considerable progress has been made in the taxonomic studies of the genus Lycodon in Asia, questions remain to be clarified regarding the taxonomy of certain groups, particularly those containing species in China. Not only do many regions in China remain overlooked by herpetologists, resulting in the possibility of undiscovered new species, b...

The diversity of Philippine amphibians and reptiles has increased over the last few decades, in part due to re-evaluation of species formerly believed to be widespread. Many of these investigations of widespread species have uncovered multiple closely related cryptic lineages comprising species complexes, each restricted to individual Pleistocene A...

The taxonomic validity of the controversial taxon, Amolops nepalicus Yang, 1991, is evaluated based on the examination of its holotype, along with topotypic A. marmoratus (Blyth, 1855) and A. afghanus (Günther, 1858), and other related congeners. Morphological comparison shows the holotype of A. nepalicus differs from its senior synonym A. marmorat...

Understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying particular adaptations/phenotypes of organisms is one of the core issues of evolutionary biology. The use of genomic data has greatly advanced our understandings on this issue, as well as other aspects of evolutionary biology, including molecular adaptation, speciation, and even conservation of endang...

Asian leaf-litter toads of the genus Leptobrachella represent a great anuran diversification in Asia. Previous studies have suggested that the diversity of this genus is still underestimated. During herpetological surveys from 2013 to 2018, a series of Leptobrachella specimens were collected from the international border areas in the southern and w...

Little is known about the worm-eating snakes of the genus Trachischium in the East Himalaya due to their secretive nature. To date, only T. monticola and T. tenuiceps are recorded from China, and the former species was recorded based on historical literature without vouchered information. In addition, a questionable record of T. guentheri in Tibet,...

The Plateau Pit Viper, Gloydius strauchi, from southwest and central China has long been considered a single, widespread species despite suspicion that it represents a potential complex of distinct evolutionary lineages. Although series of works were published on the G. strauchi species complex over the last 10 yr, species boundaries and diagnostic...

Despite continuous studies on the cryptic diversity of the Diploderma flaviceps complex in Southwest China for the pastdecade, little attention has been given to other widespreadcongeners in China. Combining both morphological and phylogenetic data, we describe a new species of Diplodermafrom populations identified previously as D. dymondi in thelo...

Although recent studies have made considerable progresses on the taxonomy of the genus Diploderma, there are still many questionable records of Diploderma species in China. Among these are suspicious sympatric distributions of congeners, locality records that fall well outside of the recognized range of a given species, and records that are in zoog...

The single prefrontal configuration has historically been used as an important diagnostic character for many natricine taxa. For example, the genus Trimerodytes Cope, 1895 was long been regarded as a junior synonym of Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 for their similar prefrontal configurations and the type species, T. balteatus Cope, 1895, has been assi...

Despite its recognition since the early 1900s, the agamid lizard Pseudocalotes austeniana remains known based on 3 vouchered specimens only from the East Himalaya, and little is known about its general biology. During herpetological surveys of Tibet, China, we collected 3 specimens of P. austeniana from Medog County, southeastern Tibet, including t...

The China-Vietnam border region is a well-known biodiversity hotspot, harboring a striking diversity of species and endemism. However, the largest part of this region is so far understudied due to restrictions by political boundaries and difficulties in accessibility. Consequently, many species have only been reported from one side of the political...

A new species of the genus Liurana Dubois, 1986 is described from Medog County, Tibet, China, based on morphological and molecular data. The new species can be differentiated from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) head wider than long; (2) tympanum distinct and large; (3) hindlimb long, tibiotarsal articulation bey...

Despite being recognized as ecologically and biogeographically important, the biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountain Region, particularly along the upper Mekong River, remains poorly understood. Here we describe a new species of Mountain Dragon of the genus Japalura sensu lato Gray, 1853 from the headwater region of the Mekong River in Chamdo, Tibet...

Although the genus Japalura s.l. has long been recognized as paraphyletic based on limited genetic sampling, its problematic taxonomy has not been revised, and phylogenetic relationships among the majority of congeners remain unknown. Here we utilize a densely sampled dataset of both multilocus genetic and morphological data to provide the first ph...

The Asian monotypic genus Pararhabdophis Bourret, 1934 has long been known from a single holotype of the type species Pararhabdophis chapaensis Bourret, 1934 only. The limited available information hampered the identification of the natricine species. On the basis of eight newly collected specimens of P. chapaensis from the type locality in Sa Pa,...

Due to a paucity of surveys in northern Indochina and lack of international collaborations among neighboring countries, recognized distributional ranges for many amphibian and reptile species end at the political borders for some countries, despite seemingly continuous suitable habitat spanning the region. Combining both morphological and genetic d...

Although the recognized distribution of Japalura kumaonensis is restricted largely to western Himalaya, a single, isolated outlier population was reported in eastern Himalaya at the China-Nepal border in southeastern Tibet, China in Zhangmu, Nyalam County. Interestingly, subsequent studies have recognized another morphologically similar species, J....

Due to a paucity of surveys in northern Indochina and lack of international collaborations among neighboring countries, recognized distributional ranges for many amphibian and reptile species end at the political borders for some countries, despite seemingly continuous suitable habitat spanning the region. Combining both morphological and genetic d...

Published online at AmphibiaChina.org (http://www.amphibiachina.org/news/56) How to cite: Kai WANG, Hongman CHEN, Jinlong REN, 2018. Annual Review: New Taxa and Taxonomic Changes of Chinese Herpetofauna in 2017. Published online at AmphibiaChina (http://www.amphibiachina.org/news/55-56)

A new species of natricine snake of the Southeast Asian genus Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 is described from western Hunan Province of China based on both mitochondrial DNA and morphological data. The new species is morphologically most similar and genetically most closely related to O. cheni Zhao, 1999 and O. latouchii (Boulenger, 1899), but posses...

Mountain Dragons of the genus Japalura Gray 1853 have gained increasing systematic attention recently as a result of the availability of new, vouchered collections and a resurgence of interest in Indochinese agamid diversity. This is particularly true for the J. flaviceps Barbour, Dunn 1919 complex from southwest China. However, many species of the...

Published online at AmphibiaChina. http://www.amphibiachina.org/news/41

Natural History note on the reproduction of Echinotriton maxiquadratus : The species shows a similar reproduction as previously reported in Echinotriton chinhaiensis.

We report two new records of Amphibia from Tibet, China. Nanorana rostandi (Dubois, 1974) (Dicroglossidae), collected from Gyirong (Jilong) Valley, southern slope of the middle Himalayas, is the first record of this species in China. Nanorana pleskei Güther, 1896, collected from Jomda (Jiangda), eastern Tibet, is the first record of this species in...

A new genus and species of threefrog is described from Medog, southeastern Tibet, China based on morphological and phylogenetic data. The new genus can be distinguished from other treefrog genera by the following combination of characters: (1) body size moderate, 45.0 mm in male; (2) snout rounded; (3) canthus rostralis obtuse and raised prominentl...

Until recently, the agamid species, Japalura flaviceps, was recognized to have the widest geographic distribution among members of the genus occurring in China, from eastern Tibet to Shaanxi Province. However, recent studies restricted the distribution of J. flaviceps to the Dadu River valley only in northwestern Sichuan Province, suggesting that r...

A new species of Scutiger Theobald, 1868 is described from Medog, southeastern Tibet, China, based on morphological and molecular data. The new species was previously identified as Scutiger nyingchiensis, but it can be differentiated from the latter and all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) medium adult body size, SVL...

In an effort to study the systematic affinities and specieslevel phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic anurans variably assigned to the genera Ingerana or Limnonectes (family Dicroglossidae), we collected new molecular sequence data for five species including four Himalayan taxa, Limnonectes xizangensis, Lim. medogensis, Lim. alpine, Ingerana...

A new species of the genus Amolops Cope, 1865 is described from Nyingchi, southeastern Tibet, China, based on morphological and molecular data. The new species, Amolops nyingchiensis sp. nov. is assigned to the Amolops monticola group based on its skin smooth, dorsolateral fold distinct, lateral side of head black, upper lip stripe white extending...

AmphibiaChina, an open-access, web-based database, is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on Chinese amphibians. It offers an integrated module with six major sections. Compared to other known databases including AmphibiaWeb and Amphibian Species of the World, AmphibiaChina has the following new functions: (1) online specie...

A new species of the agamid genus Japalura is described based on 15 specimens from the upper Lancang (Mekong) Valley of eastern Tibet, PR China. Populations of the new species, Japalura vela sp. nov., were previously recognized as J. flaviceps. The new species is morphologically most similar to J. batangensis, J. micangshanensis, J. variegata, and...

A new species of the genus Protobothrops Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1983, was described from Jilong County, southern Tibet, China, and Chungthang, northern Sikkim, India. It differs from congeners by the following characters: 1) relatively large body size (total length up to 1510 mm); 2) dorsal scale rows 25–25–19; 3) except for the smooth outermost row,...