Boana xerophylla is a common treefrog widely distributed in northern Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. A recent study found molecular, acoustic, and morphometric differences between the populations located on opposite sides of the Orinoco River. Here, we carry out an updated molecular phylogenetic analysis, including new samples from all the countries along the distribution area, and analyzed additional call recordings from Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Our phylogenetic inference reveals three geographically restricted lineages: one in the eastern Guiana Shield (corresponding to B. xerophylla sensu stricto), another in the western Guiana Shield, and a third one north of the Orinoco River. Morphological and acoustic data agree with the differentiation between the populations north of the Orinoco River and the eastern Guiana Shield despite the low genetic p-distances observed (16S rRNA: 0.7–2.2 %). We argue that the populations north of the Orinoco River correspond to a new species, sister of B. xerophylla. We name and describe Boana platanera sp. nov. from the southern versant of the Cordillera de Mérida (08º48’26’’ N, 70º30’46’’ W, WGS 84; 947 m asl), Venezuela, and refer all the populations north of the Orinoco River currently identified as B. xerophylla to this species. The new species can be readily diagnosed from B. xerophylla (characters of the latter in parentheses) by a pale orange-yellow or light brown dorsal coloration (dark brown to green), palpebral membrane with dark pigments (pigments absent); pericloacal region dark brown (cream), advertisement call with shorter first note length than B. xerophylla. This study represents an empirical example regarding false negatives behind genetic thresholds for species discovery, appraising the use of integrative taxonomic approaches.
Boana pugnax is a treefrog inhabiting open lowlands from southern Central America and northwestern South America. Its geographic distribution in Venezuela is poorly understood due, in part, its morphological similarity with B. xerophylla (with which is frequently confused) and the few localities documented. In order to increase the knowledge of the distribution of B. pugnax in the country, we examined the specimens of B. pugnax and B. xerophylla deposited in 4 Venezuelan museums, compiled the locality records of B. pugnax, and generated a model of potential distribution for species. We report 46 new localities for the species in Venezuela, including 8 new state records, which increases considerably its range extension.
In this article, a new species of salamander of the genus Bolitoglossa (Eladinea) from the cloud forest near La Mucuy in Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Venezuelan Andes, is described. Bolitoglossa mucuyensis sp. nov. differs from all Venezuelan salamanders, except B. orestes, by a larger SVL/TL ratio, and from La Culata salamander B. orestes by a reduced webbing extension of the front and hind limbs. Additionally, B. mucuyensis sp. nov. and B. orestes diverge 3.12% in terms of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene, as previously reported, and in 8.1% for the cytb gene as shown in this study.
The acoustic adaptation hypothesis (AAH) and ecological character displacement (ECD) are two potential mechanisms shaping call evolution that can predict opposite trends for the differentiation of signals. Under AAH, signals evolve to minimize environmental degradation and maximize detection against background noise, predicting call homogenization in similar habitats due to environmental constraints on signals. In contrast, ECD predicts greater differences in call traits of closely related taxa in sympatry because of selection against acoustic interference. We used comparative phylogenetic analyses to test the strength of these two selective mechanisms on the evolution of advertisement calls in glassfrogs, a highly diverse family of neotropical anurans. We found that, overall, acoustic adaptation to the environment may outweigh effects of species interactions. As expected under the AAH, temporal call parameters are correlated with vegetation density, but spectral call parameters had an unexpected inverse correlation with vegetation density, as well as an unexpected correlation with temperature. We detected call convergence among co-occurring species and also across multiple populations from the same species in different glassfrogs communities. Our results indicate that call convergence is common in glassfrogs, likely due to habitat filtering, while character displacement is relatively rare, suggesting that costs of signal similarity among related species may not drive divergent selection in all systems.
Salamanders found at different localities nearby Mérida city, Venezuela, are thus far reported as Bolitoglossa orestes or B.spongai. However, morphological ambiguities among individuals from several populations of both putative species, besidestheir reported disparate geographical distributions, prompted us to clarify the specific identity of these bolitoglossines throughthe sequence analysis of their corresponding 16S rRNA genes. Seventeen specimens belonging to the vertebrates collection ofUniversidad de Los Andes (CVULA), collected at separated cloud forests in Sierra La Culata (San Eusebio, Macho Capaz andSan Javier del Valle) and Sierra Nevada de Mérida (La Mucuy), were used to extract DNA upon tissue digestion. Sequenceanalysis of the 16S rRNA gene supports a biogeographical scenario where, so far, there is only one salamander species for eachsierra: B. orestes, which is widely distributed in Sierra La Culata, and a so far undescribed species of a Venezuelan bolitogloss-ine apparently restricted to Sierra Nevada de Mérida. Based on our molecular results and an examination of morphological evidence, B. spongai should be considered a synonym of B. orestes.
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