Genetically informed range extension for Kurixalus inexpectatus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) in Fujian, with ecological niche modeling to guide further searches

Undocumented and unnamed biodiversity is difficult to conserve effectively. We encountered several Kurixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) individuals of an unknown species identity in Fujian, China, a province with no previous records of Kurixalus. This genus of frogs, of which many new species have been described in recent years, has been the subject of much historical taxonomic confusion, largely due to conserved morphology. We sequenced two mitochondrial and one nuclear genes (1748 total bp) for three individuals from Fujian and reconstructed their phylogeny including all known lineages of Kurixalus from mainland China, and other East Asia lineages for which data were available. Both Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood trees consistently showed that the individuals from Fujian were most closely related to K. inexpectatus, which previously was only known from northern Zhejiang, over 830 km north of this new location. Our results help clarify the identity of the unknown Kurixalus in Fujian and the distribution of Kurixalus, particularly regarding the distribution of K. hainanus, which has previously been confused with other members of the K. odontotarsus species complex. Additionally, we created ecological niche models using Maxent for the clade including both K. inexpectatus and its sister species K. idiootocus to guide future survey efforts.

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