4République du Congo Theory predicts that sexually dimorphic traits under strong sexual selection, particularly those resulting in more ornate coloration in females than in males. We produce a robust phylogeny of 8 9Afrobrachia to investigate the evolutionary origins of sexual dichromatism in this radiation and 9 0 examine whether the presence of dichromatism is associated with increased rates of net 9 1 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint (which . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/372250 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Jul. 22, 2018; 5 diversification. We find that sexual dichromatism evolved once within hyperoliids and was 9 2 followed by numerous independent reversals to monochromatism. We detect significant 9 3 diversification rate heterogeneity in Afrobatrachia and find that sexually dichromatic lineages 9 4 have double the average net diversification rate of monochromatic lineages. By conducting trait 9 5 simulations on our empirical phylogeny, we demonstrate our inference of trait-dependent 9 6 diversification is robust. Although sexual dichromatism in hyperoliid frogs is linked to their 9 7 rapid diversification and supports macroevolutionary predictions of speciation by sexual 9 8 selection, the function of dichromatism in reed frogs remains unclear. We propose that reed frogs 9 9 are a compelling system for studying the roles of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of 1 0 0 sexual dichromatism across both micro-and macroevolutionary timescales.

Dorsal view of a larva of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus (Chelicerata, Xiphosura) showing the paired lateral eyes and the median eyes. See Harzsch et al., Developmental Dynamics 235:2641–2655.

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Osteology and chondrocranial morphology of Gastrophryne carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae), with a review of the osteological diversity of New World microhylids. Microhylidae is a large, cosmopolitan anuran family. Recent molecular analyses have demonstrated the monophyly of the family-a conclusion that is supported by the larval morphology, coupled with the unique mode of tongue protrusion in adults, and a suite of osteological and myological characters seemingly associated with this innovation in feeding. Despite this functional constraint, osteological diversity probably exceeds that of any other anuran family, and this diversity is especially evident in the New World microhylids that comprise two clades, Gastrophryninae and Otophryninae. To facilitate comparisons among these clades, we describe the larval chondrocranium, skeletal development, and adult osteology of Gastrophryne carolinensis. We provide a phylogenetic context for these comparisons through a novel phylogenetic analysis of 45 microhylid genera based on data for one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci from previously published studies. Nearly all relationships within the monophyletic Gastrophryninae are resolved with robust support. Based on these results, we found that the larval chondrocrania of gastrophrynines share morphological features that distinguish them from Otophryne and other anurans. Among the adults, all gastrophrynines show evidence of an anterior shift of the jaws that is correlated with specializations in the otic region, and with the alignment of the planum antorbitale, the cartilage wall separating the nasal capsule from the orbits. The 100 Phyllomedusa -10(2), December 2011 larval infrarostral and the adult mandibles lack a typical anuran mandibular symphysis, and the mentomeckelian bone of the adult is modified with a special process. The most variable part of the skull is the palate in which a neopalatine usually is absent and the vomer may be single or divided. The posteromedial processes of the hyoids of gastrophynines tend to be elaborated, and some taxa bear a peculiar transverse slit in the posterior part of the hyoid corpus. The anterior zonal elements of the pectoral girdle are reduced or absent, and the posterior parts enlarged and shifted posteriorly. Most taxa have eight presacral vertebrae; depending on the taxon the last presacral is amphicoelous or procoelous.Keywords: Adult osteology, Gastrophryninae, larval chondrocranium, osteological diversity, phylogeny, skeletogenesis.Resumo Osteologia e morfologia do condrocrânio de Gastrophryne carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae), com uma revisão da diversidade osteológica dos Microhylidae do Novo Mundo. A família Microhylidae é muito diversificada e cosmopolita. Análises moleculares recentes demonstraram seu monofiletismo-uma conclusão sustentada pela morfologia larval, ao lado do modo único de protrusão da língua nos adultos e de um conjunto de características osteológicas e miológicas aparentemente associadas à essa inovação na alimentação. Apesar dessa restr...

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The phylogenetic relationship of geographically separated "Flectonotus" (Anura: Hemiphractidae), as revealed by molecular, behavioral, and morphological data. Phylogenetic analyses of data derived from one mitochondrial gene and one nuclear gene show that the five species of small marsupial frogs currently recognized as Flectonotus are in fact two distinct and not closely related lineages. This conclusion is strongly supported by reproductive behavior and morphological characters. Thus, we recognize the genus Fritziana Mello-Leitão for the three species in southeastern Brazil and Flectonotus Miranda-Ribeiro for the two species in northern South America.Keywords: Anura, Hemiphractidae, Flectonotus, Fritziana, molecular phylogenetics, reproductive behavior, morphology. ResumoRelações filogenéticas entre espécies de "Flectonotus" (Anura: Hemiphractidae) isoladas geograficamente reveladas por dados moleculares, de comportamento e morfológicos. Análises filogenéticas de dados derivados de um gene mitocondrial e um gene nuclear mostram que as cinco espécies de pererecas-marsupiais de pequeno porte atualmente incluídas no gênero Flectonotus pertencem, na verdade, a duas linhagens distintas e não intimamente aparentadas. Essa conclusão é fortemente sustentada por caracteres morfológicos e características do comportamento reprodutivo. Dessa forma, reconhecemos os gêneros Fritziana Mello-Leitão, para as três espécies do sudeste do Brasil, e Flectonotus Miranda-Ribeiro, para as duas espécies do norte da América do Sul.

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