Sorting out Lalos: description of new species and additional taxonomic data on megophryid frogs from Northern Indochina (genus Leptolalax, Megophryidae, Anura)

Frogs in the subgenus Lalos of the genus Leptolalax (Megophryidae) are highly diversified in continental Asia and consist of about 17 nominal species. These frogs as small, inconspicuous, and of high superficial morphological similarity. We here formulate a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships and assess the amount of genetic variation among genealogical lineages on the basis of 536bp of mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. Combining molecular data with a study of morphology, morphometric divergence and geographical proximity, we tested hypotheses of species identity. We (1) used character-based and morphometric analyses to assign thee type specimens of species in Lalos available to us to respectively one of the main clades, in order to propose the best potential correct taxonomic and nomenclatural allocation for the individuals included in the molecular study, and (2) tried to also assign the historical museum specimens to these molecular taxonomic units and to reclassify them wheneve...