Phylogenetic relationships of a Patagonian frog radiation, the Alsodes plus Eupsophus clade (Anura: Alsodidae), with comments on the supposed paraphyly of Eupsophus

Author(s)

Blotto, Boris L. ^[1] ; Nunez, Jose J. ^[2] ; Basso, Nestor G. ^[3] ; Ubeda, Carmen A. ^[4] ; Wheeler, Ward C. ^[5] ; Faivovich, Julian ^{[1, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Div Herpetol, Museo Argentino Ciencias Nat Bernardino Rivadavia, RA-1033 Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina

^[2] Univ Austral Chile, Inst Zool, Valdivia - Chile

^[3] Ctr Nacl Patagon CENPAT, Puerto Madryn - Argentina

^[4] Univ Nacl Comahue, Ctr Reg Univ Bariloche, San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro - Argentina

^[5] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Div Invertebrate Zool, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[6] Univ Buenos Aires, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, Dept Biodiversidad & Biol Expt, RA-1053 Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CLADISTICS; v. 29, n. 2, p. 113-131, APR 2013.
• Web of Science Citations: 39

Abstract

The frog clade composed of the alsodid genera Alsodes+Eupsophus is the most species-rich of the Patagonian endemic frog clades, including nearly 31 of the slightly more than 50 species of that region. The biology of this group of frogs is poorly known, its taxonomy quite complex (particularly Alsodes), and its diversity in chromosome number striking when compared with other frogs (collectively, there are species having 2n=22, 2n=26, 2n=28, 2n=30 or 2n=34). We present a phylogenetic analysis of this Patagonian frog clade based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. We sequenced five mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I, 12S, 16S, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1) with three intervening tRNAs, and fragments of three nuclear genes (seven in absentia homolog 1, rhodopsin exon 1, RAG-1), for a maximum of 6510bp for multiple specimens from 26 of the 31 species. We recovered Eupsophus as polyphyletic, with E.antartandicus, E.sylvaticus, and E.taeniatus in Batrachylidae, in accordance with most previous hypotheses. Based on this result, we transfer E.antartandicus and E.taeniatus back to Batrachyla, and E.sylvaticus to Hylorina (resurrected from the synonymy of Eupsophus), remediating the paraphyly of Eupsophus. Our results strongly corroborate the monophyly of Alsodes+Eupsophus (sensu stricto), the individual monophyly of these genera, and the monophyly of the species groups of Eupsophus. They also show the non-monophyly of all non-monotypic species groups of Alsodes proposed in the past. Our results expose several taxonomic problems particularly in Alsodes, and to a lesser extent in Eupsophus. This phylogenetic context suggests a rich evolutionary history of karyotypic diversification in the clade, in part corroborating previous hypotheses. In Alsodes, we predict three independent transformations of chromosome number from the plesiomorphic 2n=26. All these, strikingly, involve increments or reductions of pairs of haploid chromosomes. Finally, the phylogenetic pattern recovered for Alsodes and Eupsophus suggests a trans-Andean origin and diversification of the group, with multiple, independent ingressions over cis-Andean regions. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 05/56756-0 - Phylogenetic studies on hylid frogs: from the trunk to the tips
• Grantee: Julian Faivovich
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 08/50928-1 - Speciation of frogs in high-altitude environments
• Grantee: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 06/52088-5 - Phylogenetic studies on hylid frogs: from the trunk to the tips
• Grantee: Julian Faivovich
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Young Researchers