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PloS One 2019The genus Scinax currently includes more than 120 species, recovered in two major clades, the S. catharinae and the S. ruber clades. The latter comprises 75 species,... (Review)
Review
The genus Scinax currently includes more than 120 species, recovered in two major clades, the S. catharinae and the S. ruber clades. The latter comprises 75 species, most of which remain unassigned to any species groups, while 12 are included in the S. rostratus and S. uruguayus groups. In this paper we present a taxonomic review of the two species currently included in the S. uruguayus group, discussing some putative phenotypic synapomorphies of this group. Although S. pinima and S. uruguayus have been considered as distinct species, this has been based on scant evidence, and several authors doubted of their distinctiveness. Our study of available specimens of S. pinima and S. uruguayus corroborates that both are valid and diagnosable species based on phenotypic evidence. Furthermore, our results show that S. pinima previously known only from its type locality, has a much widespread distribution than previously thought (including the Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul), which, added to the biological information presented here allows to suggest the removal of this species from the "Data Deficient" IUCN Red List category to "Least Concern". Also, we describe a new species formerly reported as S. aff. pinima and S. uruguayus from NE Argentina and some localities from the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul. All species are diagnosed and characterized using adult and larval morphology, osteology, vocalizations, cytogenetics, and natural history.
Topics: Animal Distribution; Animals; Anura; Argentina; Brazil; Cytogenetics; Female; Larva; Male; Phenotype; Pigmentation; Species Specificity; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 31553727
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222131 -
Zootaxa Oct 2023Litoria rothii is a widespread pelodryadid frog with a charismatic laughing advertisement call, distributed across the Australian Monsoon Tropics and southern New...
Litoria rothii is a widespread pelodryadid frog with a charismatic laughing advertisement call, distributed across the Australian Monsoon Tropics and southern New Guinea. Given its large distribution spanning well-known biogeographic barriers, variation in male advertisement calls and the prevalence of unresolved species complexes in the Australian frog fauna, we examine the genetic, morphological and acoustic diversity in the species from across its range. Our analyses reveal the presence of a previously unrecognised species in western parts of the range of L. rothii sensu lato, which we describe herein as a new species. Litoria ridibunda sp. nov. is distinguished from L. rothii on the basis of paraphyly of nuclear gene trees with L. everetti from Indonesia, colour patterns on the posterior thigh and male advertisement calls. Compared to L. rothii, the new species has a less contrasting pattern on the posterior thigh and a male advertisement call with a greater number of notes per call and a greater call duration. In particular, the magnitude of call differences between the species is highest where the ranges of the two species are in proximity in north-western Queensland. Our study further emphasises the undiagnosed diversity that remains in Australian frogs, even in relatively large, charismatic, frequently encountered species that often share human dwellings.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Australia; Anura; Phylogeny
PubMed: 38221459
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5352.1.3 -
Zoological Research Mar 2021We describe a new species of the genus , ., from Guizhou Province, China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Phylogenetically, the new species is sister to...
We describe a new species of the genus , ., from Guizhou Province, China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Phylogenetically, the new species is sister to , but is distinguishable from all known congeners by a combination of the following characters: small body size (snout-vent length 28.2‒32.2 mm in males; 38.6 mm in female); snout rounded, with no prominence on tip; single internal vocal sac; dorsal surface brown, rough, scattered with several small warts; chin clouded with blackish marking; pair of large symmetrical dark blotches on chest; vomerine teeth present; iris brown; tibiotarsal articulation reaching center of eye; nuptial pad slight; flank rough; mandibular symphysis weak; throat skin granular; and toes moderately webbed, formula I2‒2II1.5‒3III2‒3IV3‒2V. The genetic distances between the new species and were 2.9% and 5.4% for 16S rRNA and COI, respectively.
Topics: Animal Distribution; Animals; Anura; DNA, Mitochondrial; Ecosystem; Female; Male; Phylogeny; Species Specificity
PubMed: 33554484
DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.311 -
Cladistics : the International Journal... Oct 2021The most ventral muscles of the head (the mm. submentalis, intermandibularis, and interhyoideus) provide support to the gular region and lift the buccal floor during...
The most ventral muscles of the head (the mm. submentalis, intermandibularis, and interhyoideus) provide support to the gular region and lift the buccal floor during ventilation and feeding. These muscles show limited variation in most gnathostomes, but in Anura they exhibit a surprising diversity. The few studies that have explored this character system highlighted its potential as a source of phylogenetic information. In this paper we explored the diversity of this character system studying specimens of 567 anuran species and reviewing published data to cover a total of 1321 species, belonging to 53 of the 54 currently recognized anuran families, as well as caudates and caecilians. We defined 27 discrete characters including the number of muscle bellies, supplementary layers, hypertrophy and diversity of elastic fibres, and pigmentation, among others, and optimized them on a comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis. We recognized 223 unambiguously optimized synapomorphies for numerous clades on different scales, including three for Anura and many for suprafamiliar clades with poor phenotypic support. Finally, we discussed the evolution of this highly diverse character system, including homology, development, and its functional role in vocalization and feeding. Interestingly, the striking levels of variation in some structures contrast with the amount of phylogenetic inertia, allowing us to recognize several general patterns. Supplementary elements of the m. intermandibularis evolved first as broad layers occuring in more than half of extant anuran species and then concentrated forming discreet bellies in several clades. The anterior portion of the gular region is not sexually dimorphic, and is likely related to ventilation and tongue protraction. Conversely, the diversity of the m. interhyoideus is strongly linked to vocal sacs, which are present only in adult males, suggesting the presence of two independent modules.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Biological Evolution; Female; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Phylogeny; Respiration; Submandibular Gland
PubMed: 34570935
DOI: 10.1111/cla.12451 -
PloS One 2020Recent reviews on sexual dichromatism in frogs included Mannophryne trinitatis as the only example they could find of dynamic dichromatism (males turn black when...
Recent reviews on sexual dichromatism in frogs included Mannophryne trinitatis as the only example they could find of dynamic dichromatism (males turn black when calling) within the family Aromobatidae and found no example of ontogenetic dichromatism in this group. We demonstrate ontogenetic dichromatism in M. trinitatis by rearing post-metamorphic froglets to near maturity: the throats of all individuals started as grey coloured; at around seven weeks, the throat became pale yellow in some, and more strongly yellow as development proceeded; the throats of adults are grey in males and variably bright yellow in females, backed by a dark collar. We demonstrated the degree of throat colour variability by analysing a large sample of females. The red: green (R:G) ratio ranged from ~1.1 to 1.4, reflecting variation from yellow to yellow/orange, and there was also variation in the tone and width of the dark collar, and in the extent to which the yellow colouration occurred posterior to the collar. Female M. trinitatis are known to be territorial in behaviour. We show a positive relationship between throat colour (R:G ratio) and escape performance, as a proxy for quality. Our field observations on Tobago's M. olmonae showed variability in female throat colour and confirmed that males in this species also turn black when calling. Our literature review of the 20 Mannophryne species so far named showed that all females have yellow throats with dark collars, and that male colour change to black when calling has been reported in eight species; in the remaining 12 species, descriptions of males calling are usually lacking so far. We predict that both dynamic and ontogenetic sexual dichromatism are universal in this genus and provide discussion of the ecological role of dichromatism in this genus of predominantly diurnal, non-toxic frogs, with strong paternal care of offspring.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Behavior, Animal; Color; Female; Male; Pharynx; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 32639962
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223080 -
Zootaxa Oct 2022The existence of an unnamed (candidate) species from French Guiana and the state of Amapá (Brazil) closely related to Chiasmocleis haddadi has been hypothesized in...
A new Chiasmocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the eastern Guiana Shield with an amended definition of C. haddadi Peloso, Sturaro, Forlani, Gaucher, Motta, & Wheeler, 2014.
The existence of an unnamed (candidate) species from French Guiana and the state of Amapá (Brazil) closely related to Chiasmocleis haddadi has been hypothesized in previous DNA-based studies. With an integrative use of genetic, morphological and acoustic data we confirm that these populations are indeed distinct from C. haddadi and all other known congeners. We herein describe and name this new species, and amend the definition of C. haddadi since the type-series and its original diagnosis included specimens of the new species. Geographically, the new species occurs eastward of its sister species C. haddadi from which it can be distinguished by having a larger body, a proportionally smaller eye and a distinct dorsal colouration. We suspect that the new species breeds in the leaf litter and that tadpoles undergo endotrophic development whereas co-occurring C. haddadi and C. hudsoni lay clutches in the leaf litter nearby standing water of temporary ponds where exotrophic tadpoles complete their development. This new species is a new addition to the already long list of animals being endemic to the easternmost part of the Guiana Shield, a region identified as a singular bioregion within Amazonia by previous research.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Plant Breeding; Guyana
PubMed: 37045056
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5200.1.1 -
Current Biology : CB Sep 2020David and Karin Pfennig introduce character displacement, the divergent evolution of traits in overlapping species.
David and Karin Pfennig introduce character displacement, the divergent evolution of traits in overlapping species.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Biological Evolution; Phenotype; Selection, Genetic; Species Specificity
PubMed: 32961151
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.021 -
Cladistics : the International Journal... Aug 2021We study the phylogenetic relationships of egg-brooding frogs, a group of 118 neotropical species, unique among anurans by having embryos with large bell-shaped gills...
We study the phylogenetic relationships of egg-brooding frogs, a group of 118 neotropical species, unique among anurans by having embryos with large bell-shaped gills and females carrying their eggs on the dorsum, exposed or inside a pouch. We assembled a total evidence dataset of published and newly generated data containing 51 phenotypic characters and DNA sequences of 20 loci for 143 hemiphractids and 127 outgroup terminals. We performed six analytical strategies combining different optimality criteria (parsimony and maximum likelihood), alignment methods (tree- and similarity-alignment), and three different indel coding schemes (fifth character state, unknown nucleotide, and presence/absence characters matrix). Furthermore, we analyzed a subset of the total evidence dataset to evaluate the impact of phenotypic characters on hemiphractid phylogenetic relationships. Our main results include: (i) monophyly of Hemiphractidae and its six genera for all our analyses, novel relationships among hemiphractid genera, and non-monophyly of Hemiphractinae according to our preferred phylogenetic hypothesis; (ii) non-monophyly of current supraspecific taxonomies of Gastrotheca, an updated taxonomy is provided; (iii) previous differences among studies were mainly caused by differences in analytical factors, not by differences in character/taxon sampling; (iv) optimality criteria, alignment method, and indel coding caused differences among optimal topologies, in that order of degree; (v) in most cases, parsimony analyses are more sensitive to the addition of phenotypic data than maximum likelihood analyses; (vi) adding phenotypic data resulted in an increase of shared clades for most analyses.
Topics: Animals; Anura; DNA; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Phenotype; Phylogeny; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 34478194
DOI: 10.1111/cla.12447 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Dec 2022Transparency in glassfrogs has potential implications for human blood clotting.
Transparency in glassfrogs has potential implications for human blood clotting.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Anura; Blood Coagulation; Erythrocyte Count; Liver; Erythrocytes
PubMed: 36548422
DOI: 10.1126/science.adf7524 -
Zoological Science Jun 2020is a complex species that is widely distributed from Sumatra to mainland Asia, including the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Indochina. Recently, this species was confirmed to...
is a complex species that is widely distributed from Sumatra to mainland Asia, including the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Indochina. Recently, this species was confirmed to be endemic to regions near the type locality in Sumatra, and the populations from other regions were suggested to be different species. We examined phenotypic and genotypic characters of the Sumatran populations and found an unnamed lineage in addition to the true The newly found lineage can be distinguished from and other congeners by both molecular and morphological traits and has been named sp. nov. The new species is characterized by having a small body size, golden brown dorsum with scattered dark spots, dark brown ventrum with diffuse cream mottling, dark brown lateral head with cream spots on lips and the tympanum region extending to the axilla, and tibiotarsal articulation reaching to the front of the eye. We discuss the taxonomic status of so-called occurring outside of its type locality, especially of .
Topics: Animals; Anura; DNA, Mitochondrial; Female; Indonesia; Male; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Sequence Analysis, RNA
PubMed: 32549543
DOI: 10.2108/zs200006