Rhacophorus dennysi is one species of the family Rhacophoridae. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of R. dennysi. The complete mitochondrial genome of R. dennysi was 17 572 bp in length (GenBank accession number KT191129). Similar to the typical mtDNA of amphibians, the complete mtDNA sequence of R. dennysi contained two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and one D-loop region. The complete mitogenome sequence data in R. dennysi would provide a basis and important molecular data for studying the phylogenetic relationship, molecular identification and evolutionary analysis in anura species. The results will be useful for the detailed study of mitogenome evolution and the phylogenetic relationships among the orders in the class Rhacophoridae.

A field survey was conducted to determine the pollution grade, sources, potential ecological risk, and health risk of soil potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in Xikuangshan Mine (XKS), the largest antimony (Sb) deposit in the world. A total of 106 topsoil samples were collected from 6 sites in XKS to measure the concentrations of PTEs Cr, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Hg, and Sb. The results show that the average concentrations of these elements at all six sites were generally greater than their corresponding background values in Hunan province, especially Sb, Hg, and As. Correlation and principal component analyses suggested that Cd, Zn, Pb, Hg, and Sb were primarily released from mining and other industrial and human activities, while Cr and As were mainly impacted by the parent material from pedogenesis. A risk index analysis showed that, overall, sites were at very high ecological risk, and Sb is the highest ecological risk factor, followed by Cd and Hg. According to health risk assessment, oral ingestion is the main non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk exposure route. The higher potentially non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks happen to the local children who live in the vicinity of mining area. It revealed that the mining and smelting processes of XKS have negatively influenced the local people, therefore, we should pay increasing attention to this practical issue and take effective measures to protect the ecology of XKS.