Data from: Two new species of long-fingered frogs of the genus Cardioglossa (Anura: Arthroleptidae) from Central African rainforests

We describe two new frog species of Cardioglossa (Family Arthroleptidae) from Central Africa. The new species are found in the rainforests of western-central Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo near the Gabonese border, respectively. We demonstrate that these species are morphologically and genetically distinct from each other and all other species of Cardioglossa. Both new species lack the dorsal hour-glass pattern present in many species of the genus, but they can be distinguished from each other and related species by distinctive colour patterns on their lateral surfaces and extremities. Both new species most closely resemble C. gratiosa, which occurs in the Atlantic coastal forests extending from Cameroon through Gabon. The new species can be differentiated from C. gratiosa by the absence of black transverse bars on all limbs or by distinctive lateral colouration. Analysis of mitochondrial ribosomal 16S DNA sequences reveals low to moderate levels (1.9–7.5%) of divergence between these new species and closely related species of Cardioglossa. The floodplains of the Congo and Ubangi Rivers may be important geographic barriers for many of these species. The occurrence of these two new lowland species in the Congo Basin reveals that the distribution and diversity of Cardioglossa in this region was underestimated. In addition, we elevate C. nigromaculata inornata to species-level status, based in part on newly available colour photographs from 1950 of specimens from the only known locality.本研究记述了分布于中非的节蛙科（Arthroleptidae）心舌蟾属（Cardioglossa）2个新物种。两个新物种分别分布于刚果（金）中西部，以及与加蓬接壤的刚果（布）热带雨林中。研究证实，这两个新物种在形态学与遗传学上均彼此独立，且与心舌蟾属其余所有物种均存在显著差异。两个新物种均不具备该属多数物种所具有的背部沙漏状斑纹，但可通过体侧与四肢独特的体色斑纹，与彼此及近缘物种相区分。二者的形态与分布于喀麦隆至加蓬大西洋沿岸森林的格氏心舌蟾（C. gratiosa）最为相似，可通过以下特征与后者区分：四肢均无黑色横斑，或体侧体色独具特色。对线粒体核糖体16S DNA序列的分析显示，这两个新物种与心舌蟾属近缘物种之间的遗传分化程度为1.9%至7.5%，处于低至中等水平。刚果河与乌班吉河的泛滥平原或为该属多数物种的重要地理阻隔。这两个新的低地蛙类物种在刚果盆地的发现，表明该区域心舌蟾属的分布范围与物种多样性曾被低估。此外，本研究基于1950年拍摄的仅知分布地标本的新近公开彩色照片，将黑斑心舌蟾素雅亚种（C. nigromaculata inornata）升格为独立物种。