Integrative taxonomic reassessment of Odontophrynus populations in Argentina and phylogenetic relationships within Odontophrynidae (Anura).

Adolfo Ludovico Martino,Ulrich Sinsch,Jonas Maximilian Dehling

doi:10.7717/peerj.6480

Adolfo Ludovico Martino, Ulrich Sinsch + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6480

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Journal: PeerJ	Publication Date: Feb 25, 2019
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universität Koblenz, National University of Río Cuarto

Abstract

Amphibians are the most vulnerable vertebrates to biodiversity loss mediated by habitat destruction, climate change and diseases. Informed conservation management requires improving the taxonomy of anurans to assess reliably the species’ geographic range. The genus Odontophrynus that is geographically refined to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay includes currently 12 nominal species with many populations of uncertain taxonomic assignment and subsequently unclear geographic ranges. In this study, we applied integrative taxonomic methods combining molecular (mitochondrial 16S gene), allozyme, morphological and bioacoustic data to delimit species of the genus Odontophrynus sampled from throughout Argentina where most species occur. The combined evidence demonstrates one case of cryptic diversity and another of overestimation of species richness. The populations referred to as O. americanus comprise at least three species. In contrast, O. achalensis and O. barrioi represent junior synonyms of the phenotypically plastic species O. occidentalis. We conclude that each of the four species occurring in Argentina inhabits medium to large areas. The Red List classification is currently “Least Concern”. We also propose a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus and associated genera Macrogenioglottus and Proceratophrys (Odontophrynidae).

Highlights

Distribution pattern of Neotropical amphibian diversity is not well understood because of incomplete information on taxonomy and distribution (Vieites et al, 2009; Winter et al, 2016)
Hypothesis 1: Phenotypic plasticity within and among Odontophrynus taxa is associated with corresponding genetic differentiation Applying the consensus protocol for integrative taxonomy (Padial et al, 2010) we evaluate the support for the genetically delimited species O. americanus, O. cordobae, O. lavillai and O. occidentalis by the among-taxon variation of allozyme, morphology and bioacoustic character complexes
Integrative taxonomy has proved to be the appropriate tool to cope with distinct levels of character differentiation in the morphologically highly conserved genus of Odontophrynus toads

Summary

Introduction

Distribution pattern of Neotropical amphibian diversity is not well understood because of incomplete information on taxonomy and distribution (Vieites et al, 2009; Winter et al, 2016). Amphibians are of high conservation concern, with almost 43% the currently known species being globally threatened and another 25% data deficient (Stuart et al, 2004). Taxonomic uncertainty stems partially from the prevalence of the morphospecies concept in most original descriptions of amphibian species (Frost, 2018). How to cite this article Martino AL, Dehling JM, Sinsch U. Integrative taxonomic reassessment of Odontophrynus populations in Argentina and phylogenetic relationships within Odontophrynidae (Anura).

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