A research achievement by the team led by Huang Song from Anhui Normal University has been officially published in the international zoological taxonomic journal ZooKeys. The former Cynops orientalis subsp. qianshanensis has, following systematic taxonomic research, been formally elevated to full species status: Hypselotriton qianshan, commonly known as the Qianshan newt.

This population was named as a subspecies of the Oriental fire-bellied newt (Cynops orientalis) in 2012, and its taxonomic status had long been debated. Using morphological measurements and molecular systematic analyses, the research team confirmed that the Qianshan newt shows significant genetic divergence from the Oriental fire-bellied newt. The Yangtze River forms a natural geographic barrier between them, and the Qianshan newt exhibits stable and distinctive morphological traits, fully meeting the criteria for recognition as an independent species.

The type specimen of the Qianshan newt was collected in Qianshan City, Anhui Province. Its core distribution is in the Dabie Mountains, where it mostly inhabits shallow freshwater habitats such as rice paddies and mountain streams, adapted to moist and freshwater environments. It has clear diagnostic features: a unique orange-red patch on the first digit, an discontinuous vertebral stripe, and interrupted or absent black abdominal stripes — all of which readily distinguish it from closely related species.

This taxonomic revision brings the total number of species in the Chinese genus Hypselotriton to 12, filling a gap in amphibian taxonomic research. It fully demonstrates the exceptionally high biodiversity value of Tianzhushan UNESCO Global Geopark and the Dabie Mountains region, and provides an important scientific basis for the conservation, research monitoring, and ecological management of regional amphibians.