Abstract:The Piebald Odorous Frogs (Odorrana schmackeri species complex) are endemic to China and widely distribute in Southern China. However, their taxonomy is still unresolved and many cryptic species have been reported in the past decade. Previous analyses have suggested the obvious genetic divergence of O. schmackeri in Hunan Province, whereas the taxonomic status and distribution patterns of this frog in Hunan Province remain unclear. Here, morphological cluster and molecular phylogenetic analyses were conducted based on the data collected from 8 geographical populations of the piebald odorous frog in Hunan and the type locality of piebald odorous frog in Yichang, Hubei as well as samples of the huanggang odorous frog (O. huanggangensis) from the type locality Wuyishan, Fujian (Fig. 1). The genetic distance between Huitong, Chengbu, Xinning, Shuangpai, Yizhang populations of O. schmackeri in Hunan Province and O. huanggangensis in Fujian Province is 0.001﹣0.002, whereas it reached 0.072﹣0.073 compared with O. schmackeri from the type locality Yichang, Hubei Province. The genetic distance between Shimen, Guidong groups of O. schmackeri in Hunan Province and O. schmackeri of Yichang, Hubei Province is 0.001﹣0.012, which is less than that (0.072﹣0.074) with O. huanggangensis in Fujian Province (Table 2). Interestingly, the genetic distance analyses further suggested the existence of two distinct species, i.e., O. schmackeri and O. huanggangensis, which corresponding to Wulingyuan (A) group and Wulingyuan (B) group respectively, in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province. In addition, the topology of phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on morphological and molecular data all indicated that O. schmackeri species complex in Hunan Province were divided into two major groups: one group consisted of the populations from Wulingyuan (A), Huitong, Chengbu, Xinning, Shuangpai and Yizhang, the another contained samples from Shimen, Wulingyuan (B) and Guidong (Fig. 4 and 5). Therefore, the piebald odorous frog distributed in southwestern Hunan and the south of Mt. Xuefeng are revised as O. huanggangensis and it was the new records in Hunan, whereas the populations from northwestern Hunan and Mt. Luoxiao are reserved as O. schmackeri, and the two species were sympatrically distributed in Wulingyuan Scenic Area. However, a further study is required on the taxonomic status of O. schmackeri species complex between Mt. Wuling and Mt. Xuefeng in northwestern Hunan, and the mechanism underlying the sympatric distribution.