Tarsiger indicus (Vieillot, 1817), the White-browed Bush Robin, is a small passerine bird widely distributed in Asian countries. Here, we successfully sequenced its mitogenome using the Illumina Novaseq 6000 platform (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) for PE 2 × 150 bp sequencing. Combined with other published mitogenomes, we conducted the first comprehensive comparative mitogenome analysis of Muscicapidae birds and reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships between Muscicapidae and related groups. The T. indicus mitogenome was 16,723 bp in size, and it possessed the typical avian mitogenome structure and organization. Most PCGs of T. indicus were initiated strictly with the typical start codon ATG, while COX1 and ND2 were started with GTG. RSCU statistics showed that CUA, CGA, and GCC were relatively high frequency in the T. indicus mitogenome. T. cyanurus and T. indicus shared very similar mitogenomic features. All 13 PCGs of Muscicapidae mitogenomes had experienced purifying selection. Specifically, ATP8 had the highest rate of evolution (0.13296), whereas COX1 had the lowest (0.01373). The monophylies of Muscicapidae, Turdidae, and Paradoxornithidae were strongly supported. The clade of ((Muscicapidae + Turdidae) + Sturnidae) in Passeriformes was supported by both Bayesian Inference and Maximum likelihood analyses. The latest taxonomic status of many passerine birds with complex taxonomic histories were also supported. For example, Monticola gularis, T. indicus, and T. cyanurus were allocated to Turdidae in other literature; our phylogenetic topologies clearly supported their membership in Muscicapidae; Paradoxornis heudei, Suthora webbiana, S. nipalensis, and S. fulvifrons were formerly classified into Muscicapidae; we supported their membership in Paradoxornithidae; Culicicapa ceylonensis was originally classified as a member of Muscicapidae; our results are consistent with a position in Stenostiridae. Our study enriches the genetic data of T. indicus and provides new insights into the molecular phylogeny and evolution of passerine birds.

Rufous-spotted Torrent Frog (Amolops loloensis) is a vulnerable species, which belongs to the family Ranidae and is distributed in high-gradient streams of Sichuan and Yunnan, China. In this study, we first determined the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of A. loloensis (GenBank accession no. KT750963). The mitogenome sequence of A. loloensis was 18 926 bp in size. It contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a D-loop region. Amolops loloensis shared the same gene arrangement pattern with A. mantzorum. The O_L structures of A. loloensis and A. mantzorum were both located at the upstream of trnA-trnN, while the O_L structures of A. ricketti and A. wuyiensis were both located at the downstream of trnA-trnN. It is of great interest to discuss the gene rearrangement mechanisms in the following study.

The complete mitogenome of Bufo gargarizans minshanicus is 17,719 bp in size, and shares a conserved gene arrangement, gene content and base composition with other Bufonidae species. The base composition of the H-strand is biased toward A + T content at 56.97% (T 28.14%, C 27.67%, A 28.83% and G 15.36%). Most protein-coding genes (PCGs) begin with ATG, while COX1 and ND2 initiate with ATA and ND1 starts at ATT. Seven PCGs have the complete stop codons AGA and TAA, whereas the remaining four PCGs end with TA or T. The putative control region possesses two repeat motifs, and four termination-associated sequences and six conserved sequence blocks at the 5' and 3' ends.

Ticks rank only second to mosquitoes as blood-feeding arthropods, capable of spreading pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, and parasites) to hosts during a blood meal. To better understand the relationship between viruses carried by ticks and viruses that have been reported in giant pandas, it is necessary to analyze the viromes of giant panda-parasitic blood-sucking ticks.