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Integrative species delimitation and biogeography of the Rhinella margaritifera species group (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) suggest an intense diversification throughout Amazonia during the last 10 million years

Fouquet, Antoine ; Ferrão, Miqueias ; Rodrigues, Miguel T. ; Werneck, Fernanda P. ; Prates, Ivan LU orcid ; Moraes, Leandro J.C.L. ; Hrbek, Tomas ; Chaparro, Juan C. ; Lima, Albertina P. and Perez, Renata , et al. (2024) In Systematics and Biodiversity 22(1).
Abstract

The accumulation of studies delimiting species in Amazonia has not only shed light on the patterns of its outstanding species richness but also allowed a better understanding of the processes of diversification within this immense region. Nevertheless, vast knowledge gaps remain even for prominent anuran species complexes, such as the Rhinella margaritifera species group. This clade of toads comprises 23 valid species-level taxa, mainly distributed in Amazonia but also in South America’s Dry Diagonal and Atlantic and trans-Andean rainforests. Species boundaries and taxonomy in this group are notoriously complex, with studies suggesting the existence of several unnamed species. Available phylogenetic information suggests an... (More)

The accumulation of studies delimiting species in Amazonia has not only shed light on the patterns of its outstanding species richness but also allowed a better understanding of the processes of diversification within this immense region. Nevertheless, vast knowledge gaps remain even for prominent anuran species complexes, such as the Rhinella margaritifera species group. This clade of toads comprises 23 valid species-level taxa, mainly distributed in Amazonia but also in South America’s Dry Diagonal and Atlantic and trans-Andean rainforests. Species boundaries and taxonomy in this group are notoriously complex, with studies suggesting the existence of several unnamed species. Available phylogenetic information suggests an Andean-western Amazonian origin of the group with subsequent diversification within Amazonian lowlands during the last 10 Myr and secondary dispersals into other Neotropical regions. To further test this biogeographic scenario and improve knowledge on species diversity, we used an unprecedentedly large mtDNA sampling (>800 16S sequences) across the clade’s distribution and comprising all but one described species. We delimited 54 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units, which we tested further based on patterns of variation of a nuclear locus and acoustic and morphological data. This approach confirmed the existence of at least 25 candidate species, 19 of which correspond to currently recognized taxa whereas 30 remained ‘unconfirmed’. Our results clarify the taxonomic status of some species but also suggest multiple introgression events that blur some mtDNA-based species boundaries. Lastly, to provide a temporal framework for the clade’s diversification, we generated a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree based on a mitogenomic matrix, which confirmed a Miocene (∼9 Ma) western Amazonian origin and six major clades in the group, each having initially diversified in different regions within Amazonia. Most of these clades have later dispersed throughout Amazonia during the establishment of the modern Amazonian hydrographic system, i.e., in the last 6 Myr.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bioacoustics, cryptic species, DNA, morphometrics, Neotropics, phylogenetics
in
Systematics and Biodiversity
volume
22
issue
1
article number
2291086
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85183783197
ISSN
1477-2000
DOI
10.1080/14772000.2023.2291086
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
97ff5d02-9f8f-4975-8c4f-3973b4d2bfa6
date added to LUP
2024-02-27 15:23:47
date last changed
2024-02-29 15:10:41
@article{97ff5d02-9f8f-4975-8c4f-3973b4d2bfa6,
  abstract     = {{<p>The accumulation of studies delimiting species in Amazonia has not only shed light on the patterns of its outstanding species richness but also allowed a better understanding of the processes of diversification within this immense region. Nevertheless, vast knowledge gaps remain even for prominent anuran species complexes, such as the Rhinella margaritifera species group. This clade of toads comprises 23 valid species-level taxa, mainly distributed in Amazonia but also in South America’s Dry Diagonal and Atlantic and trans-Andean rainforests. Species boundaries and taxonomy in this group are notoriously complex, with studies suggesting the existence of several unnamed species. Available phylogenetic information suggests an Andean-western Amazonian origin of the group with subsequent diversification within Amazonian lowlands during the last 10 Myr and secondary dispersals into other Neotropical regions. To further test this biogeographic scenario and improve knowledge on species diversity, we used an unprecedentedly large mtDNA sampling (&gt;800 16S sequences) across the clade’s distribution and comprising all but one described species. We delimited 54 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units, which we tested further based on patterns of variation of a nuclear locus and acoustic and morphological data. This approach confirmed the existence of at least 25 candidate species, 19 of which correspond to currently recognized taxa whereas 30 remained ‘unconfirmed’. Our results clarify the taxonomic status of some species but also suggest multiple introgression events that blur some mtDNA-based species boundaries. Lastly, to provide a temporal framework for the clade’s diversification, we generated a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree based on a mitogenomic matrix, which confirmed a Miocene (∼9 Ma) western Amazonian origin and six major clades in the group, each having initially diversified in different regions within Amazonia. Most of these clades have later dispersed throughout Amazonia during the establishment of the modern Amazonian hydrographic system, i.e., in the last 6 Myr.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fouquet, Antoine and Ferrão, Miqueias and Rodrigues, Miguel T. and Werneck, Fernanda P. and Prates, Ivan and Moraes, Leandro J.C.L. and Hrbek, Tomas and Chaparro, Juan C. and Lima, Albertina P. and Perez, Renata and Pansonato, Andre and Carvalho, Vinicius T. and Almeida, Alexandre P. and Gordo, Marcelo and Farias, Izeni P. and Milto, Konstantin D. and Roberto, Igor J. and Rojas, Rommel R. and Ron, Santiago R. and Guerra, Vinicius and Recoder, Renato and Camacho, Agustin and Mamani, Luis and Rainha, Raissa N. and Avila, Robson W.}},
  issn         = {{1477-2000}},
  keywords     = {{Bioacoustics; cryptic species; DNA; morphometrics; Neotropics; phylogenetics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Systematics and Biodiversity}},
  title        = {{Integrative species delimitation and biogeography of the Rhinella margaritifera species group (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) suggest an intense diversification throughout Amazonia during the last 10 million years}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2023.2291086}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/14772000.2023.2291086}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}