Abstract
Two new species of rhacophorid frogs in the genus Theloderma are described from high-elevation montane forest on the Kon Turn and Langbian Plateaus in Vietnam, on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. Both new species are differentiated morphologically from their congeners by their small body size (<30 mm SVL); absence of vomerine teeth; rugose skin texture with minute, calcified dorsal asperities; no webbing on hands; brownish dorsum; and a bicoloured iris (pale gold in upper third andreddish brown in lower two-thirds). Molecular evidence supports that both new species are members of genus Theloderma, and are distinct from all congeners sampled (uncorrected sequence divergences at the 16S rRNA gene of >8.5% for all Theloderma for which homologous 16S rRNA sequences are available). The new species are differentiated from each other by dorsal pattern, extent of dorsal asperities, and by mitochondrial DNA.
NSTL