| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Nicoli, Laura
;
Tomassini, Rodrigo L.
;
Montalvo, Claudia I.
Total Authors: 3
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY; v. 37, n. 1 2017. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 4 |
| Abstract | |
Ceratophrys is the most diverse and widely distributed genus of Ceratophryidae, the clade of South American horned frogs. It includes eight extant species, the relationships of most of which have been recently studied on the basis of molecular information (Faivovich et al., 2014). In addition, numerous remains from the Cenozoic of South America, including several fossil species, have been attributed to this genus (see Faivovich et al., 2014; Nicoli, 2014; Scanferla and Agnolin, 2015). Several of these assignments, however, are problematic (see Faivovich et al., 2014; Nicoli, 2014) and are being revisited by the authors. One of the questionable aspects of this record is that only in a few cases were the taxonomic assignments properly discussed (i.e., establishing the presence of synapomorphies or possible synapomorphies of Ceratophrys in the fossil remains). In addition, in most cases, the stratigraphic provenance of the fossils and the age estimates of the fossil-bearing rocks are not well known, preventing the use of fossils as calibration points in molecular clock analyses (Faivovich et al., 2014). In this context, several cranial remains collected with strict stratigraphic control in the Miocene Arroyo Chasico Formation were briefly described and assigned to Ceratophrys in a meeting abstract (Urrutia and Rosset, 2006), but a detailed study has not subsequently been published. This sedimentary sequence was later studied (Zarate et al., 2007), including radiometric dating of some levels, thereby providing age estimates for the anuran-bearing beds. Herein, we describe and discuss, with a broad comparative taxon sampling (Supplemental Data, Appendix) and in a phylogenetic context, the taxonomic placement of these remains. These would represent not only the oldest record of Ceratophrys to date but also that of Ceratophryidae, considering that the taxonomic position of the oldest putative representatives of this family has recently been recently questioned (Agnolin, 2012; Faivovich et al., 2014; Nicoli et al., 2016). (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/10000-5 - A multi-disciplinary approach to the study of amphibian diversification |
| Grantee: | Taran Grant |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 13/50741-7 - Diversity and conservation of Brazilian amphibians |
| Grantee: | Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |