Cytogenetic and genetic data support Crossodactylus aeneus Müller, 1924 as a new junior synonym of C. gaudichaudii Duméril and Bibron, 1841 (Amphibia, Anura)

Abstract

The nominal anuran species Crossodactylus gaudichaudii Duméril and Bibron, 1841 and Crossodactylus aeneus Müller, 1924 are indistinguishable based on adult and larval morphology, being subject of taxonomic doubts. Here, we describe the karyotypes of C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus, using classical and molecular cytogenetic markers. In addition, we used sequences of the H1 mitochondrial DNA to infer their phylogenetic relationships by Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Maximum Parsimony (MP) approaches and species delimitation test (by bPTP approach). The karyotypic data do not differentiate C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus in any of the chromosome markers assessed. In both phylogenetic analyses, C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus were recovered into a strongly supported clade. The species delimitation analysis recovered the specimens assigned to C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus as a single taxonomic unit. Taken the cytogenetic and genetic results together with previous studies of internal and external morphology of tadpoles and biacoustic pattern, C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus could not be differentiated, which supports the hypothesis that they correspond to the same taxonomic unit, with C. aeneus being a junior synonym of C. gaudichaudii.