title: Five new, microendemic Asian Leaf-litter Frogs (Leptolalax) from the southern Annamite mountains, Vietnam.
abstract: The Leptolalax applebyi group of Asian leaf-litter frogs currently comprises four species of particularly small-bodied (<40 mm SVL) species distributed in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and northeastern Cambodia. In addition to their small size, the group is characterized by their morphological and genetic similarities, as well as their breeding habitat at headwaters of small mountain streams and seeps. A recent study suggested that at least two-thirds of the diversity of the group remained hidden within morphologically cryptic lineages. We expand upon the molecular, morphometric, and acoustic data and formally delineate and describe five of these lineages as distinct species: Leptolalax ardens sp. nov., Leptolalax kalonensis sp. nov., Leptolalax pallidus sp. nov., Leptolalax maculosus sp. nov., and Leptolalax tadungensis sp. nov. Due to habitat loss, the current ranges of these species are likely to be a fraction of their historical extent and under continued threat from deforestation.
authors.affiliation: Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 6 College St, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia.; Email: jodi.rowley@austmus.gov.au.
authors.forename: Jodi J L
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rowley
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology - Biotechnology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh city-University of Science, 227 Nguyen Van Cu, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Dao T A
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology - Biotechnology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh city-University of Science, 227 Nguyen Van Cu, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Duong T T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Sciences Hong Duc University, No 565 Quang Trung Street- Dong Ve Ward - Thanh Hoa city, Vietnam.; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Vinh Q
authors.initials: VQ
authors.lastname: Dau
authors.affiliation: Museu Paraense Emíllio Goeldi, CZO. Avenida Perimetral, 1.901, Terra Firme, CEP 66077-530, Belelém, Pará, Brasil; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Pedro L V
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Peloso
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet
  Road, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Truong Q
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology - Biotechnology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh city-University of Science, 227 Nguyen Van Cu, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Huy D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.affiliation: Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Hanoi, Vietnam.; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Tao T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Straße 173, D-50735 Köln, Germany; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ziegler
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D049628:Body Size; D002160:Cambodia; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D014744:Vietnam; D014828:Vocalization, Animal