Liuixalus

Liuixalus is a small genus of rhacophorid frogs that are distributed in southern China (Hong Kong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong). Some species now in Liuixalus were originally placed in Philautus. It is thought to be sister to the remaining lineages within Rhacophorinaeae.^[2]

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Amphibia

Order:Anura

Family:Rhacophoridae

Quick facts Scientific classification, Type species ...

Liuixalus
Liuixalus romeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Rhacophoridae
Subfamily:	Rhacophorinae
Genus:	Liuixalus Li, Che, Bain, Zhao, and Zhang, 2008
Type species
Philautus romeri Li, Che, Bain, Zhao, and Zhang, 2008[1]
Synonyms
Romerus Dubois, Ohler & Pyron, 2021

Close

The genus was first erected as Liuixalus in 2008 based on molecular genetic evidence showing distinctness of Liuixalus romeri (then known as Chiromantis romeri) from the rest of Chiromantis.^[3] The genus name Liuixalus commemorates Liu Chengzhao [zh], a Chinese herpetologist.^[1] In 2021, another phylogenetic study deemed the name Liuixalus as invalidly proposed due to a lack of a diagnosis for the genus in the original study, and thus redescribed the genus as Romerus, alongside morphological characteristics distinguishing it. The name Romerus commemorates British herpetologist John D. Romer.^[2] However, in 2023, the name was changed back to Liuixalus on the basis of Ren, Jiang & Li, who refuted the requirement for a genus name to have morphological characteristics associated with it.^[4]

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed two species of the genus as vulnerable (Liuixalus ocellatus and L. hainanus), one as endangered (L. romeri), and one as least-concern (L. feii), while Liuixalus shiwandashan is considered data deficient.^[5]