Journal Article
Systematics of spiny‐backed treefrogs ( H ylidae: O steocephalus ): an A mazonian puzzle
Karl‐Heinz Jungfer; Julián Faivovich; José M. Padial; Santiago Castroviejo‐Fisher; Mariana M. Lyra; Bianca V. M. Berneck; Patricia P. Iglesias; Philippe J. R. Kok; Ross D. MacCulloch; Miguel T. Rodrigues; Vanessa K. Verdade; Claudia P. Torres Gastello; Juan Carlos Chaparro; Paula H. Valdujo; Steffen Reichle; Jiří Moravec; Václav Gvoždík; Giussepe Gagliardi‐Urrutia; Raffael Ernst; Ignacio De la Riva; Donald Bruce Means; Albertina P. Lima; J. Celsa Señaris; Ward C. Wheeler; Célio F. B. Haddad
Zoologica Scripta · Vol. 42, Issue 4 · pp. 351-380 · 2013
Abstract
Spiny‐backed tree frogs of the genus O steocephalus are conspicuous components of the tropical wet forests of the A mazon and the G uiana S hield. Here, we revise the phylogenetic relationships of O steocephalus and its sister group T epuihyla , using up to 6134 bp of DNA sequences of nine mitochondrial and one nuclear gene for 338 specimens from eight countries and 218 localities, representing 89% of the 28 currently recognized nominal species. Our phylogenetic analyses reveal (i) the paraphyly of O steocephalus with respect to T epuihyla , (ii) the placement of ‘ H yla’ warreni as sister to T epuihyla , (iii) the non‐monophyly of several currently recognized species within O steocephalus and (iv) the presence of low ( O . taurinus and O . oophagus ) for the 16 S gene fragment used in amphibian DNA barcoding. We propose a new taxonomy, securing the monophyly of O steocephalus and T epuihyla by rearranging and redefining the content of both genera and also erect a new genus for the sister group of O steocephalus . The colouration of newly metamorphosed individuals is proposed as a morphological synapomorphy for O steocephalus . We recognize and define five monophyletic species groups within O steocephalus , synonymize three species of O steocephalus ( O . germani , O . phasmatus and O . vilmae ) and three species of T epuihyla ( T . celsae , T . galani and T . talbergae ) and reallocate three species ( H yla helenae to O steocephalus , O . exophthalmus to T epuihyla and O . pearsoni to D ryaderces gen. n.). Furthermore, we flag nine putative new species (an increase to 138% of the current diversity). We conclude that species numbers are largely underestimated, with most hidden diversity centred on widespread and polymorphic nominal species. The evolutionary origin of breeding strategies within O steocephalus is discussed in the light of this new phylogenetic hypothesis, and a novel type of amplexus (gular amplexus) is described.