Hatching plasticity in a Southeast Asian tree frog mitigates submergence-induced mortality

Environmentally cued hatching has been well-documented in amphibians in response to a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors. The hatching of terrestrial amphibian eggs in response to flooding may be basal within the group, but amphibian lineages in tropical Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have not received as much attention as their Neotropical counterparts. We investigated submergence-induced hatching in Feihyla hansenae, a Rhacophorid tree frog with terrestrial eggs. We quantified natural rates of clutch submergence at our study site in Thailand. Using submergence experiments, we found that embryos are capable of hatching early to escape flooding, and that failure to hatch results in mortality. Among the embryos that were able to hatch early, only the earliest, youngest hatchlings experienced a trade-off in body size that persisted for 6 days, while later, older hatchlings were not significantly smaller than spontaneous hatchlings under control conditions. By incorporating our natural and experimental data into Monte Carlo methods to simulate and compare survival probabilities with and without hatching plasticity, we found an overall 3.1% increase in submergence survival due to hatching plasticity. Our findings support the idea that flooding-induced hatching is widespread across amphibians with terrestrial eggs and highlight the importance of researching understudied tropical regions. As climate change is projected to affect rainfall patterns, the ability of embryos to escape abiotic egg-stage threats may be an indicator of species' ability to flexibly navigate a changing environment.     

云南8种树蛙的染色体组型比较研究

本文报道了云南８种树桂的染色体组型,并对目前所已知的树蛙种类的染色体组型进行了比较。锯腿小树蛙Ｐｈｉｌａｕｔｕｓｃａｖｉｒｏｓｔｒｉｓ（Ｇｕｅｎｔｈｅｒ）的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体和８对小染色体,９Ｍ＋４ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２,Ｎｏ．７长臂近着丝粒处和Ｎｏ．８短臂端部备有一个次缢痕;白颊小树蛙Ｐｈｉ．ｐａｌｐｅｂｒａｌｉｓＳｍｉｔｈ的２ｎ＝２６,５对人染色体和８对小染色体,８Ｍ＋５ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２,Ｎｏ．６短臂近着丝粒处有一个次缢痕。白颌大树蛙Ｒｈａ．ｍａｘｉｍｕｓＧｕｅｎｔｈｅｒ的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体和８对小染色体,９Ｍ＋４ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２;棕褶树蛙Ｒｈａ．ｆｅａｅＢｏｕｌｅｎｇｅｒ的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体和８对小染色体,９Ｍ＋４ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２;黑蹼树蛙Ｒｈａ．ｒｅｉｎｗａｒｄｔｉｉ（Ｂｏｉｅ）的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体和８对小染色体,９Ｍ＋４ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２,Ｍｏ．１短臂近着丝粒处有一个次缢痕;红蹼树蛙Ｒｈａ．ｒｈｏｄｏｐｕｓＬｉｕｅｔＨｕ的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体,１对中染色体和７对小染色体,９Ｍ＋４ＳＭ,ＮＦ＝５２;斑腿泛树蛙Ｐｏｌｙｐｅｄａｔｅｓｍｅｇａｃｅｐｈａｌｕｓ的２ｎ＝２６,５对大染色体     

中国小树蛙属一新种及海南冬季两栖爬行动物调查

20 0 4年 1月在海南省进行了两栖爬行动物调查 ,共获得 2 0种和l新种。在吊罗山采到小树蛙成体 ,与眼斑小树蛙P .ocellatusLiuandHu的体形、体色、鼓膜等特征相近 ,但有以下主要区别 :胫跗关节前伸超过吻端 ,额部有 2～ 3个银白色小斑点 ,背中部有一极明显的浅棕色椭圆形斑 ,腹面黄白色 ,前臂背侧具有 2～ 3条横纹 ,故将该蛙定为新种。     

河南树蛙科一新纪录

2002年5月采自河南商城县的一种树蛙科标本,经鉴定为河南省新纪录大泛树蛙(Rhacophorus dennysi)。     

湖南省张家界发现白线树蛙

正2017年7月,采用样线法对位于湖南张家界市的武陵源世界自然遗产地动物多样性进行实地调查时,在天子山景区茶园采集到1号两栖类雄性成体标本(图1)。经分类鉴定为树蛙科(Rhacophoridae)的白线树蛙(Rhacophorus leucofasciatus),属湖南省两栖动物分布新记录(沈猷慧等2014)。该标本经10%的甲醛溶液固定后,保存于中南林业科技大学动物标本室。     

Re-examination of the phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA

The phylogenetic relationships among rhacophorid frogs are under dispute. We use partial sequences of three mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and cytochrome b) and three nuclear protein-coding (Rag-1, rhodopsin exon 1, and tyrosinase exon 1) genes from 57 ingroup taxa and eight outgroup taxa to propose a hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships within Rhacophoridae. Our results support recognition of the genus Feihyla, and Chiromantis is the sister taxon to the clade formed by Feihyla, Polypedates and Rhacophorus. We place Aquixalus odontotarsus within Kurixalus, and the remaining species of Aquixalus and Philautus jinxiuensis into the genus Gracixalus. We give Philautus (Kirtixalus) the rank of genus and place Philautus menglaensis within it. The division of species groups among Chinese Rhacophorus needs revision, and a cryptic species is revealed within Rhacophorus nigropunctatus. Rhacophorus pingbianensis is considered a synonym of Rhacophorus omeimontis. The validity of Rhacophorus hui is confirmed by present molecular evidence.     

中国泛树蛙属一新种（两栖纲：树蛙科）

记述采自云南省屏边大围山的树蛙科Rhacophoridae泛树蛙属一新种－屏边泛树蛙Polypedates pingbianensis sp.nov.。新种与蛾眉泛树蛙P.omeimontis近似,但有明显区别,新种无声囊及声囊孔,峨眉泛树蛙具单咽下内声,声囊孔长裂形。     

Evolution of reproduction in the Rhacophoridae (Amphibia, Anura)

Rhacophorid treefrogs have different reproductive modes: some go through a tadpole stage and some have direct development, and the adults of some species produce foam nests. Philautus is the only genus characterized by direct development. The production of foam nests has been reported in the genera Polypedates, Rhacophorus, Chiromantis and Chirixalus. Recent molecular studies did not provide a robust hypothesis concerning the origin of these reproductive modes in the Rhacophoridae. In order to better understand the evolution of these reproductive modes, we tried to clarify relationships within this group, using DNA sequencing. Our data set consists in a large number of new sequences (1676 base pairs corresponding to threee genes) for five outgroup ranoids and 48 Rhacophoridae, including 16 undescribed species from Sri Lanka and southern India, and all homologous data available in Genbank. After the inclusion of Philautus from India, our data show that the separation of Philautus into clades does not coincide with their geographic distribution. Our data point to the existence of a clade, including the genera Rhacophorus, Polypedates, Chiromantis and Chirixalus, which confirms the results of Wilkinson et al. (2002) and suggests that the ability to produce foam nests has emerged only once in the Rhacophoridae, as already stated by these authors.     

New insights to the molecular phylogenetics and generic assessment in the Rhacophoridae (Amphibia: Anura) based on five nuclear and three mitochondrial genes, with comments on the evolution of reproduction

The phylogenetic relationships among 12 genera of treefrogs (Family, Rhacophoridae), were investigated based on a large sequence data set, including five nuclear (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, proopiomelanocortin, recombination activating gene 1, tyrosinase, rhodopsin) and three mitochondrial (partial 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA and the complete valine t-RNA) genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear gene sequences resolved three major clades. The first group included Philautus, Pseudophilautus, Kurixalus, Gracixalus, and Theloderma moloch; Pseudophilautus and Kurixalus were sister taxa. The second group consisted of Nyctixalus and Theloderma. The third group contained Feihyla, Polypedates, Rhacophorus, and Chiromantis vittatus; Polypedates and Feihyla were sister taxa. Analyses of the nuclear and mitochondrial genes supported the following results: (1) Genus Liuixalus formed the sister group of all other rhacophorines. (2) Philautus, Theloderma, and Chiromantis were not resolved as monophyletic genera. Four groups, including Philautus ocellatus and P. hainanus, P. longchuanensis and P. gryllus, P. banaensis, and P. quyeti nested well within the genera Liuixalus, Pseudophilautus, Kurixalus, and Gracixalus, respectively. (3) Theloderma moloch and Chiromantis vittatus did not cluster with other species of Theloderma and Chiromantis, respectively. Foam nesting evolved only once, as did laying eggs in a jelly-like matrix containing some bubbles. Terrestrial direct development evolved twice in the Rhacophoridae.