Molecular phylogeny of Neotropical rock frogs reveals a long history of vicariant diversification in the Atlantic forest

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic coastal forest is one of the most heterogeneous morphoclimatic domains on earth and is thus an excellent region in which to examine the role that habitat heterogeneity plays in shaping diversification of lineages and species. Here we present a molecular phylogeny of the rock frogs of the genus Thoropa Cope, 1865, native to the Atlantic forest and extending to adjacent campo rupestre of Brazil. The goal of this study is to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the genus using multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses. Our topology reveals 12 highly supported lineages among the four nominal species included in the study. Species T. saxatilis and T. megatympanum are monophyletic. Thoropa taophora is also monophyletic, but nested within T. miliaris. Populations of T. miliaris cluster in five geographically distinct lineages, with low support for relationships among them. Although all 12 lineages are geographically structured, some T. miliaris lineages have syntopic distributions with others, likely reflecting a secondary contact zone between divergent lineages. We discuss a biogeographic scenario that best explains the order of divergence and the distribution of species in Atlantic forest and adjacent areas, and outline the implications of our findings for the taxonomy of Thoropa.

Male‐male competition and repeated evolution of terrestrial breeding in Atlantic Coastal Forest frogs*

“…; Jetz and Pyron ; Sabbag et al. ), the intensity of male‐male competition has been well characterized. Thoropa taophora has a polygynous mating system associated with scarce breeding seeps and high levels of male‐male competition (Muralidhar et al.…”

“…; Jetz and Pyron ; Sabbag et al. ), we selected as out‐groups Thoropa lutzi and Thoropa taophora (from the sister genus of the Cycloramphus ‐ Zachaenus clade) and one species each from the genera Crossodactylus , Hylodes , and Megaelosia (family Hylodidae). We rooted our trees on Paratelmatobius poecilogaster (family Leptodactylidae).…”

“…Our genetic matrix only lacks Cycloramphus catarinensis, Cycloramphus diringshofeni, and Cycloramphus duseni for which tissues are unavailable in collections (Andersson 1914;Bokermann 1957;Heyer 1983;Lingnau et al 2008). Based on previous studies Grant et al 2006;Fouquet et al 2013;Jetz and Pyron 2018;Sabbag et al 2018), we selected as out-groups Thoropa lutzi and Thoropa taophora (from the sister genus of the Cycloramphus-Zachaenus clade) and one species each from the genera Crossodactylus, Hylodes, and Megaelosia (family Hylodidae). We rooted our trees on Paratelmatobius poecilogaster (family Leptodactylidae).…”

“…This resource limitation leads to intense competition for egg-laying sites and presumably favors larger males that have an advantage in antagonistic interactions. In the saxicolous genus Thoropa, the sister taxon of the Cycloramphus clade Grant et al 2006;Fouquet et al 2013;Jetz and Pyron 2018;Sabbag et al 2018), the intensity of male-male competition has been well characterized. Thoropa taophora has a polygynous mating system associated with scarce breeding seeps and high levels of male-male competition (Muralidhar et al 2014), and monopolist males exhibit paternal care of eggs and protect them against cannibalism by conspecific males (Giaretta and Facure 2004;Consolmagno et al 2016).…”

Rediscovering Cycloramphus bandeirensis (Anura: Cycloramphidae): natural history and breeding biology of a vulnerable species with a variant reproductive mode

“…Likewise, the lack of natural history data and a stable phylogeny for Cycloramphidae preclude speculations as to the origin of reproductive specializations and tadpole morphotypes in this family. The monophyly of the family is debated (Frost et al 2006, Grant et al 2017, Jetz and Pyron 2018, Streicher et al 2018 and the familial internal relationships are poorly resolved (Verdade 2005, Weber et al 2011, Fouquet et al 2013, Barros 2016, Sabbag et al 2018, de Sá et al 2019.…”