Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – Researchers from Guangdong Environmental Protection Engineering Vocational College and Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Sciences discovered a new amphibian species, *Leptobrachella kungfu*, in Foshan City. The related research findings were officially published on November 12th in the international zoological taxonomy journal *Biokeys*.
*Leptobrachella kungfu* is small in size, with prominent black lines along the lower edge of the temporal folds, slightly webbed toes, wide membranes along the lateral edges of the toes, uninterrupted toe pads, and no skin ridges on its dorsal surface.
Lin Shishi, the lead researcher, stated that the species' Latin name, *Leptobrachella kungfu*, originates from the traditional Chinese martial art of kung fu, highlighting Foshan's important cultural heritage as a "city of kung fu" in China.
*Leptobrachella kungfu* mainly inhabits the hilly and mountainous areas of the western part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an area with intensive human activity. Its distribution patterns, historical dispersal routes, ecological niche, and adaptability deserve further attention from the academic community. Researchers also compiled a key to the genus *Pterocarya* in Guangdong Province, accurately identifying each species based on traditional morphological characteristics.
Lin Shishi believes that the discovery of new species demonstrates that although the area of various natural microhabitats in large urban clusters is small, they are of great significance for the protection of distinctive species and should be a core focus of urban ecosystems; it also shows that biodiversity surveys and conservation efforts have entered a more refined and specialized stage.
