Resolving taxonomic ambiguities in extant Himalayan lazy toads: A new species of the genus Scutiger (Anura, Megophryidae) from eastern Nepal
Year: 2025
Type: article
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
Source: European Journal of Taxonomy
Institutions: Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Structure et Instabilité des Génomes, Tribhuvan University, Comenius University Bratislava, University of Rostock
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410127729