Morphological and genetic discordance in two species of Bornean Leptobrachium (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae)

Recent phylogenetic studies of Southeast Asian megophryid Leptobrachium, while clarifying (1) distinct specific status of three Philippine populations and (2) high genetic diversities within Bornean Leptobrachium montanum, posed two questions, (1) relationships and divergence histories of two Philippine species and Bornean Leptobrachium gunungense, and (2) possible discordance between phylogenetically and morphologically defined lineages. In order to solve these questions, and especially reviewing current taxonomy of Bornean species, we estimated the phylogenetic relationships of endemic Bornean species together with their putative relatives from Philippines and Sumatra, using 2451 bp sequences of the 12S rRNA, tRNA(val), and 16S rRNA of mitochondrial DNA genes. With respect to Leptobrachium hasseltii and Leptobrachium chapaense, lineages from Borneo, Philippines, and Sumatra formed a monophyletic group with Leptobrachium lumadorum from Mindanao as the basal clade, while two other Philippine species from Palawan and Mindoro formed a clade and nested in Bornean lineages. Sister species relationship of the two Philippine species and L. gunungense is not supported, rejecting the hypothesis of Philippine origin of L. gunungense. Phylogeny does not conform to morphological variation, and the topotypic L. montanum and one lineage of Leptobrachium abbotti are genetically very close despite their clear difference in ventral color pattern. Furthermore, each of these species forms a paraphyletic group and contains several lineages, each of which is a candidate of good species. These results clearly indicate that current taxonomy of Bornean species based on several morphological characteristics requires complete revision. Detailed studies on adult and larval morphology, as well as acoustic characteristics, are necessary to evaluate the taxonomic status of all lineages recovered.     

Ophryophryne属在角蟾科系统发育中所处的位置及拟髭蟾族四属间系统关系

采用最大似然法、贝叶斯法、最大简约法对来自角蟾科Megophryidae(Anura)9属20种及外群2种共30号标本的DNA序列进行了系统发育分析,所用片段为线粒体16S rRNA和cytb基因部分序列。结果表明,用于分析的所有角蟾科物种形成两大支。Ophryophryne、Brachycarsophrys、Atympanophrys同属第一支,前两者的系统关系较近。第二支5属间系统发育关系为(Leptolalax,((Leptobrachium,Vibrissaphora),(Oreolalax,Scutiger)))。     

Three new species of Leptolalax from Thailand (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae)

Three new megophryid species, Leptolalax melanoleucus, L. fuliginosus, and L. solus, are described from southwestern and southern Thailand on the bases of acoustic and morphological characteristics. Leptolalax melanoleucus and L. fuliginosus are similar to L. pelodytoides from northern Thailand, but differ from it completely in advertisement call characteristics and ventral color. Leptolalax solus is similar to L. heteropus from peninsular Malaysia, but differs from it by advertisement call, as well as by some body proportions. The distributional pattern of Leptolalax within Thailand is discussed.     

A new species of Megophrys (Amphibia:Anura:Megophryidae) from the northwestern Hunan Province,China

<正> A new species of Megophrys (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae), Megophrys tuberogranulatus Shen, Mo et Li, sp.nov. (Holotype HNUL 03080902, adult male, SVL: 38.2 mm), from Sangzhi County, Hunan Province, is described. Megophrystuberogranulatus is closely related to both Megophrys kuatunensis and Megophrys minor. Characters of the new species that differentiatethis species from close relatives are skin granulated with big tubercles on the dorsal sides of both thigh and tibia, thebigger inner metacarpal tubercle, upper eyelid wider than the interorbital space, hind limbs longer, overlapping of the left andright calcaneal parts. The type specimens are deposited in the Animal Museum of Life Sciences College of Hunan Normal University.     

A New Species of the Genus Xenophrys(Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from Libo County,Guizhou, China

A new species of the genus Xenophrys is described from a karst cave environment of Libo County, Guizhou Province, Southern China. The new species, Xenophrys liboensis sp. nov., is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: 1) tympanum distinct; 2) vomerine teeth present; 3) the length of lower arm and hand larger than the half of snout-vent; 4) heels overlapped slightly when the flexed legs are held at right angles to the body axis; 5) toe tips with rudimentary webs and without grooves; 6) dermal fringes moderate; 7) tubercles on the dorsum forming an X-shaped weak ridge; 8) horn-like tubercle at the edge of the upper eyelid distinct; 9) color of the iris in life is brown. In Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of 22 species of Xenophrys, all the individuals of X. liboensis sp. nov. clustered into a monophyletic clade with high posterior probabilities. In addition, the ranges of genetic divergences of X. liboensis sp. nov. with other species were interspecific rather than intraspecific. Based on the above evidences, we consider that X. liboensis sp. nov. is a valid species in Xenophrys.     

Morphology,Molecular Genetics,and Bioacoustics Support Two New Sympatric Xenophrys Toads (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) in Southeast China

Given their recent worldwide declines and extinctions, characterization of species-level diversity is of critical importance for large-scale biodiversity assessments and conservation of amphibians. This task is made difficult by the existence of cryptic species complexes, species groups comprising closely related and morphologically analogous species. The combination of morphology, genetic, and bioacoustic analyses permits robust and accurate species identification. Using these methods, we discovered two undescribed Xenophrys species, namely Xenophrys lini sp. nov. and Xenophrys cheni sp. nov. from the middle range of Luoxiao Mountains, southeast China. These two new species can be reliably distinguished from other known congeners by morphological and morphometric differences, distinctness in male advertisement calls, and substantial genetic distances (>3.6%) based on the mitochondrial 16s and 12s rRNA genes. The two new species, together with X. jinggangensis, are sympatric in the middle range of Luoxiao Mountains but may be isolated altitudinally and ecologically. Our study provides a first step to help resolve previously unrecognized cryptic biodiversity and provides insights into the understanding of Xenophrys diversification in the mountain complexes of southeast China.     

Advertisement calls of the midwife toads Alytes (Amphibia, Anura, Discoglossidae) in continental Spain

The advertisement calls of six Spanish populations of midwife toads (genus Alytes) are described presenting characteristic audiospectrograms and oscillograms of the calls. Numerical data concerning the spectral and temporal features of the calls in relation to caller size (SVL) and temperature are also compared. The regression temperature vs. call duration groups the different populations according to the extant recognized phylogeny of the genus. Based on this character, the montane population of A. obstetricans from Penalara (Madrid) appears to be more closely related to the Pyrenean populations of A. o. almogavarü than to the more western populations of A. oboscai in Central Spain, which are closer geographically.     

Advertisement calls of the midwife toads Alytes (Amphibia, Anura, Discoglossidae) in continental Spain

The advertisement calls of six Spanish populations of midwife toads (genus Alytes ) are described presenting characteristic audiospectrograms and oscillograms of the calls. Numerical data concerning the spectral and temporal features of the calls in relation to caller size (SVL) and temperature are also compared. The regression temperature vs. call duration groups the different populations according to the extant recognized phylogeny of the genus. Based on this character, the montane population of A. obstetricans from Penalara (Madrid) appears to be more closely related to the Pyrenean populations of A. o. almogavarii than to the more western populations of A. o. boscai in Central Spain, which are closer geographically.

Zusammenfassung

Paarungsrufe der Geburtshelferköten Alytes (Amphibia, Anura, Discoglossidae) aus zentralspanischen Populationen
Die Paarungsrufe von sechs Geburtshelferkröten aus sechs spanischen Populationen werden hinsichtlich ihrer charakteristischen Tonfrequenz-Spektrogramme und Oszillogramme beschrieben.
Die numerischen Daten der spektralen und zeitlichen Eigenheiten der Rufmerkmale wurden mit der Größe der Männchen (SVL) und der Temperatur verglichen. Die Regression zwischen Temperatur und Dauer des Rufes ordnet die verschiedenen Populationen in der gleichen Weise ein, wie sie schon aus der allgemein anerkannten Phylogenetik der Gattung bekannt ist. Aufgrund dieser Untersuchungen, kann davon ausgegangen werden, daß die Gebirgspopulation A. obstetricans von Pealara (Madrid) enger mit der Pyrenäen-Population A. o. almogavarii verwandt ist als mit der westlichen Population A. o. boscai in Zentralspanien, obwohl sie zu jener geographisch näher liegt.     

A New Species of the Asian Toad Genus Megophrys sensu lato(Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from Guizhou Province,China

We describe a new species of the genus Megophrys sensu lato from Guizhou Province, China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA sequences all strongly supported the new species as an independent lineage in Megophrys(Panophrys) clade. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics:(1) small body size with SVL 38.8 mm in male and SVL 42.3 mm in female;(2) vomerine teeth absent;(3) tongue not notched behind;(4) a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid;(5) tympanum distinctly visible, rounded;(6) two metacarpal tubercles in hand;(7) relative finger lengths: II I V III;(8) toes with rudimentary webbing at bases;(9) heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body;(10) tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level between tympanum to eye when leg stretched forward;(11) an internal single subgular vocal sac in male;(12) in breeding male, the nuptial pads with black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of the first and second fingers.     

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.     

Taxonomic Revision of Raorchestes menglaensis(Kou,1990)(Amphibia:Anura),with Descriptions of Two New Species from Yunnan,China

Raorchestes is a group of Bush frogs mainly distributed in South and Southeast Asia that are poorly recognized by morphological criteria.We recognize the true R...     

A New Record of Kaloula(Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) in Shanghai,China

We discovered a medium-sized species of narrow-mouthed frog of the genus Kaloula in June and September 2014 during municipal surveys of amphibians in Shanghai. Three narrow-mouthed frogs were collected in city drains of the Binjiang Forest Park, Shanghai. Based on subsequent examination and morphological characters, these specimens were identified as Kaloula borealis(Barbour, 1908). The species was mainly distributed in Northern China and Korea. It is a new amphibian record for Shanghai. We found the visible differences in male secondary sexual characteristics between our specimens and Beijing specimens. K. borealis was first described inhabiting urban greenlands which could benefit amphibian conservation in urban and urbanizing areas.     

Phylogeny and genus-level classification of mantellid frogs (Amphibia, Anura)

We propose a novel classification of frogs in the family Mantellidae, based on published phylogenetic information and on a new analysis of molecular data. Our molecular tree for 53 mantellid species is based on 2419 base pairs of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, tRNAVal and cytochrome b genes, and of the nuclear rhodopsin gene. Because the genus Mantidactylus Boulenger sensu lato is confirmed to be paraphyletic with respect to Mantella Boulenger, and is highly diverse in morphology and reproductive biology, we propose to partition Mantidactylus into seven genera by elevating four subgenera to genus rank (Blommersia Dubois, Guibemantis Dubois, Spinomantis Dubois, and Gephyromantis Methuen) and creating two new genera (Boehmantis gen. n. and Wakea gen. n.). In addition, we create the new subgenera Boophis (Sahona) subgen. n., Gephyromantis (Duboimantis) subgen. n., G. (Vatomantis) subgen. n., and Mantidactylus (Maitsomantis) subgen. n. The following species are transferred to Spinomantis, based on their phylogenetic relationships: S. elegans (Guibé) comb. n. (formerly in Mantidactylus subgenus Guibemantis); S. bertini (Guibé) comb. n. and S. guibei (Blommers-Schlösser) comb. n. (both formerly in Mantidactylus subgenus Blommersia); S. microtis (Guibé) comb. n. (formerly in Boophis Tschudi). Within Boophis, the new B. mandraka species group and B. albipunctatus species group are established. Boophis rhodoscelis (Boulenger) is transferred to the B. microtympanum group. The following five species are revalidated: Mantidactylus bellyi Mocquard and M. bourgati Guibé (not junior synonyms of M. curtus (Boulenger)); M. cowanii (Boulenger) (not syn. M. lugubris (Duméril)); M. delormei Angel (not syn. M. brevipalmatus Ahl); Mantella ebenaui (Boettger) (not syn. M. betsileo (Grandidier)). The new classification accounts for recent progress in the understanding of the phylogeny and natural history of these frogs, but it is still tentative for a number of species. Future modifications may be necessary, especially as concerns species now included in Gephyromantis and Spinomantis.Full article published online at: http://www.senckenberg.de/odes/06-11.htm     

Description of a New Species of the Genus Brachytarsophrys Tian and Hu, 1983 （Amphibia： Anura： Megophryidae） from Southern China Based on Molecular and Morphological Data

A new species, Brachytarsophrys popei sp. nov., is described based on a series of specimens collected from Mount Jinggang, Jiangxi Province, Taoyuandong Nature Reserve, Hunan Province and Nanling Nature Reserve, Guangdong Province, China. The new species can be easily distinguished from other known congeners by morphology, morphometrics and molecular data of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. It is characterized by its relatively small size with 86.2 mm in snout-vent length in adult female and 70.7 mm-83.5 mm in males; vomerine teeth bearing on two markedly elevated ridges, which projecting behind far beyond the posterior level of the choanae, widely separated by a distance nearly 1.5 times length of one; margin of tongue de~ply notched behind; toes about one-third to two-thirds webbed in males, at most one-third webbed in female; the webs extending as a wide fringes along either side of toes; upper eyelid with tubercles, one of which is enlarged and becoming a remarkably prominent, bluntly conical light- yellow horn; black tiny nuptial spines on the dorsal surface of the first finger and second finger base, single vocal sac in males; gravid females bear pure yellowish oocytes; tadpoles with a transverse white stripe on ventral surface and two longitudinal white stripes along the sides of body. The new species represents the fifth known Brachytarsophrys species.     

Comparative feeding kinematics of temperate pond-dwelling tadpoles (Anura,Amphibia)

Several studies have explored various components of feeding kinematics in anuran larvae; however, a direct comparison of feeding kinematics among morphologically similar and sympatric taxa has not been undertaken. We used high-speed videography (500 frames/s) to capture feeding kinematics of Anaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882) (Fowler’s Toad), Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope, 1880) (Grey Treefrog), Scaphiopus holbrookii (Harlan, 1835) (Eastern Spadefoot Toad), and Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1889) (Southern Leopard Frog) tadpoles as they foraged from an algal-covered substrate. In total, we filmed 120 feeding sequences from 25 feeding bouts and quantified eight kinematic variables that were common among all four species. Despite relatively similar keratinized feeding structures among taxa, our videography data revealed fundamental differences in how the tadpoles used these structures. One specific difference was in the speed of the gape cycle. Among taxa, S. holbrookii tadpoles had the longest gape cycle and longest time to reach maximum gape, whereas A. fowleri and L. sphenocephalus tadpoles had shorter durations for both variables and did not differ between species. We also found species differences in the magnitude that tadpoles narrow their lower jaw sheath. Irrespective of gape size, the lower jaw sheath of S. holbrookii tadpoles narrowed by approximately 26% of its maximum width—a twofold difference from A. fowleri tadpoles, which narrowed only 13%. Our study revealed that tadpoles with similar oral structures feeding on the same substrate can exhibit major differences in feeding kinematics.