Cryptic Species of Spotted Frogs, Rana pretiosa Complex, in Western North America

Range-wide phylogeographic analysis of the spotted frog complex (Rana luteiventris and Rana pretiosa) in northwestern North America

“…Based on alloyzme and morphological analysis, Green et al (1996Green et al ( , 1997 split R. pretiosa into two separate species: R. pretiosa and R. luteiventris. In this same analysis, Green et al (1996Green et al ( , 1997 suggested that R. luteiventris may actually consist of up to four different species.…”

“…Based on alloyzme and morphological analysis, Green et al (1996Green et al ( , 1997 split R. pretiosa into two separate species: R. pretiosa and R. luteiventris. In this same analysis, Green et al (1996Green et al ( , 1997 suggested that R. luteiventris may actually consist of up to four different species. Subsequently, Bos and Sites (2001) analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences to investigate phylogeographic patterns in US populations of R. luteiventris, focusing on populations in Utah.…”

“…Landscape genetic analysis of R. luteiventris in Montana and Idaho has also shown that gene flow is restricted by mountain ridges and elevation (Funk et al, 2005a). Allozyme analyses grouped a population from eastern Oregon (Anthony Lake) with the Great Basin clade (Green et al, 1997), whereas mtDNA analysis grouped a different population from eastern Oregon (''Blue Mountains") with the northern clade (Bos and Sites, 2001). Thus inclusion of additional populations from eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho is particularly important for resolving the distribution of the Great Basin clade, especially given that the Great Basin DPS is a candidate for ESA-listing.…”

Molecular Phylogenetics of Western North American Frogs of the Rana boylii Species Group

“…The other two species of western North American ranids occur at high elevations. R. cascadae (which has a relatively large body size) is found in the Cascade Range from northern California to Washington, and R. pretiosa (which has a relatively small body size and is sometimes divided into two species, R. pretiosa to the west and R. luteiventris to the east; Green et al, 1997) is found in the interior montane regions of northwestern North America. R. cascadae and R. pretiosa lack distinctive leg coloration and are not grouped with the two yellow-legged frog species (R. boylii and R. muscosa) under the tradi-tional view of systematic relationships (Green, 1986a(Green, , 1986bZweifel, 1955).…”

Quantifying the Impacts of a Novel Predator: The Distinctive Case of the Oregon Spotted Frog (<i>Rana pretiosa</i>) and the Invasive American Bullfrog (<i>Rana (Aquarana) catesbeiana</i>)

“…complex by genetics and morphometrics analysis (Green et al 1997). The disjunct distribution and population structrure of these ecologically similar species is likely a result of topography and Pleistocene glaciation events (Funk et al 2005(Funk et al , 2008, wherein extant populations of OSF are geographically isolated, have very low genetic diversity, and small effective population sizes (Blouin et al 2010).…”