Molecular phylogeny and morphometric analyses reveal deep divergence between Amazonia and Atlantic Forest species of Dendrophryniscus

Abstract

Dendrophryniscus is an early diverging clade of bufonids represented by few small-bodied species distributed in Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. We used mitochondrial (414 bp of 12S, 575 bp of 16S genes) and nuclear DNA (785 bp of RAG-1) to investigate phylogenetic relationships and the timing of diversification within the genus. These molecular data were gathered from 23 specimens from 19 populations, including eight out of the 10 nominal species of the genus as well as Rhinella boulengeri. Analyses also included sequences of representatives of 18 other bufonid genera that were publically available. We also examined morphological characters to analyze differences within Dendrophryniscus. We found deep genetic divergence between an Amazonian and an Atlantic Forest clade, dating back to Eocene. Morphological data corroborate this distinction. We thus propose to assign the Amazonian species to a new genus, Amazonella. The species currently named R. boulengeri, which has been previously assigned to the genus Rhamphophryne, is shown to be closely related to Dendrophryniscus species. Our findings illustrate cryptic trends in bufonid morphological evolution, and point to a deep history of persistence and diversification within the Amazonian and Atlantic rainforests. We discuss our results in light of available paleoecological data and the biogeographic patterns observed in other similarly distributed groups.

Independent evolution of pouched flowers in the Amazon is supported by the discovery of a new species of Lesia (Gesneriaceae) from Serra do Aracá tepui in Brazil

“…23 Mya) and suggest, together with other evidences from various groups of plants and animals, that the occurrence of a more open vegetation along a dry diagonal (i.e. Chaco, Cerrado, Caatinga) has been an efficient barrier to dispersal of rainforest taxa during the Miocene (Pellegrino et al 2011;Fouquet et al 2012;Werneck et al 2012;Terra-Araujo et al 2015).…”

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of gnateaters (Passeriformes, Conopophagidae) in the South America forests

“…2; Table 1). Recent studies showed that the Atlantic Forest holds ancient lineages that date from the mid-Tertiary for birds (Derryberry et al, 2011), mammals Galewski et al, 2005) and frogs (Fouquet et al, 2012). C. lineata and C. l. cearae originated around the late Miocene to early Pliocene ( Fig.…”

Interpopulation differences in shell forms of the pearl oyster, Pinctada imbricata radiata (Bivalvia: Pterioida), in the northern Persian Gulf inferred from principal component analysis and elliptic Fourier analysis

“…There are various morphometric approaches for detecting differences in the form of organisms (Cadrin and Friedland, 1999), e.g., landmark-based analyses (James Rohlf and Marcus, 1993;García-Rodríguez et al, 2011) and elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) (Laurie et al, 1997;Palmer et al, 2004;Neto et al, 2006;Andrade et al, 2010;de Aranzamendi et al, 2010;Marquez et al, 2010). In addition to modern techniques, traditional methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) are still in use to analyze intraspecific morphometric variation along a geographical range (Konan et al, 2010;Tlig-Zouari et al, 2010;Hahn et al, 2011;Fouquet et al, 2012;Zapata et al, 2012).…”