1. Integrative taxonomy reveals a new but common Neotropical treefrog, hidden under the name Boana xerophylla
- Author
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Fernando J. M. Rojas-Runjaic, Enrique La Marca, Moisés Escalona, Antoine Fouquet, Ariovaldo Antonio Giaretta, Andrew J. Crawford, Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher, J. Celsa Señaris, Michelle Castellanos, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul [Porto Alegre] (PUCRS), Universidad de Los Andes [Venezuela] (ULA), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Durham University, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Universidad de Los Andes [Mérida, Venezuela] (ULA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Species complex ,Hylidae ,[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,molecular phylogenetics ,03 medical and health sciences ,Species Specificity ,Phylogenetics ,RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ,morphology ,[SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology ,Animalia ,Animals ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Sensu stricto ,Phylogeny ,030304 developmental biology ,Taxonomy ,0303 health sciences ,Panama ,cryptic species ,Phylogenetic tree ,biology ,Ecology ,Cordillera de Mérida ,Central America ,Biodiversity ,South America ,biology.organism_classification ,Classification ,Venezuela ,Molecular phylogenetics ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Taxonomy (biology) ,Anura ,Vocalization, Animal ,Bioacoustics - Abstract
International audience; Boana xerophylla is a common treefrog widely distributed in northern Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. A recent study found molecular, acoustic, and morphometric differences between the populations located on opposite sides of the Orinoco River. Here, we carry out an updated molecular phylogenetic analysis, including new samples from all the countries along the distribution area, and analyzed additional call recordings from Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Our phylogenetic inference reveals three geographically restricted lineages: one in the eastern Guiana Shield (corresponding to B. xerophylla sensu stricto), another in the western Guiana Shield, and a third one north of the Orinoco River. Morphological and acoustic data agree with the differentiation between the populations north of the Orinoco River and the eastern Guiana Shield despite the low genetic p-distances observed (16S rRNA: 0.7–2.2 %). We argue that the populations north of the Orinoco River correspond to a new species, sister of B. xerophylla. We name and describe Boana platanera sp. nov. from the southern versant of the Cordillera de Mérida (08º48’26’’ N, 70º30’46’’ W, WGS 84; 947 m asl), Venezuela, and refer all the populations north of the Orinoco River currently identified as B. xerophylla to this species. The new species can be readily diagnosed from B. xerophylla (characters of the latter in parentheses) by a pale orange-yellow or light brown dorsal coloration (dark brown to green), palpebral membrane with dark pigments (pigments absent); pericloacal region dark brown (cream), advertisement call with shorter first note length than B. xerophylla. This study represents an empirical example regarding false negatives behind genetic thresholds for species discovery, appraising the use of integrative taxonomic approaches.
- Published
- 2021