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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 2 n = 22, 2 n = 26, 2 n = 28, 2 n = 30 or 2 n = 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 6510 bp 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 2 n = 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The allotetraploid Tympanoctomys barrerae has a broad, patchy distribution around salt flats in western Argentina. To gain insights into its phylogenetic relationships, phylogeographical patterns, and origin, seven populations of T. barrerae and its allied taxa were studied through a 1075-bp fragment of cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I. Matrilineal phylogenetic relationships were explored with maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches. The intraspecific genealogy was inferred by median-joining networks. The populational structure was assessed by molecular variance, and the demographic history through coalescence. The tree topology depicted sister-group relationship between Octomys mimax to the pair T. barrerae-Pipanacoctomys aureus, suggesting P. aureus belongs to the maternal lineage that gave rise to T. barrerae. High degrees of intrapopulational variation and the several instances of interpopulational polyphyly suggest range shifts and secondary contact. Consistent with the phylogenetic results, the network analysis revealed two haplotypic lineages depicting genetic admixtures unrelated to the current geographical distribution, and a deep split with the southernmost lineage of Chubut. The origin of T barrerae was estimated at approximately 2.52 Mya, whereas the divergence estimate for Chubut coincides with the end of largest Patagonian glaciation, at 1.47 Mya. Apparently, this population remained isolated during a northward Pleistocenic range shift. The historical demographic patterns of the lineages of T. barrerae fit with a contraction-expansion model coincident with Quaternary cycling events. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 108, 453-469. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental care behaviour is described for the first time for two frog species of Batrachyla and three species of Eupsophus, from the Patagonian forests of Chile and Argentina. Males of Batrachyla species attend to eggs which are hidden under shelters on damp soil. Males of Eupsophus species remain by the clutch, and later on also by the tadpoles, in small aquatic microhabitats in the ground. The fact that some male of Eupsophus were found in advanced stages of weight loss confirms the hypothesis that they remain by the clutch until metamorphosis takes place. The parental care behaviour observed in Eupsophus and Batrachyla complements the reproductive strategy of their species, which have few eggs relatively rich in yolk and conceal the clutch in semi-terrestrial environments, and in Eupsophus, have unpigmented endotrophic tadpoles which remain confined to a dark, aquatic microhabitat until their metamorphosis is complete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative micro-complement fixation technique was used to estimate degrees of relatedness and times of divergence between Caudiverbera and Telmatobufo. The data suggest that the lineages leading to Caudiverbera and Telmatobufo diverged about 35 million years ago. The divergence time among the three species of Telmatobufo was estimated to be 20-25 million years. Ouchterlony tests did not show immunological identity among T. australis and T. bullocki with Caudiverbera, while T. venustus showed partial identity. These analyses suggest that two groups can be recognized within the genus Telmatobufo. The molecular weights of albumins were similar among the Telmatobufo species and slightly lower in C. caudiverbera. Se estimó el grado de parentesco y tiempo de divergencia entre Caudiverbera y Telmatobufo a través del ensayo de microfijación de complemento. Los resultados sugieren que el linaje que condujo a Caudiverbera y Telmatobufo divergió hace 35 millones de años. El tiempo de divergencia entre las especies de Telmatobufo se estimó entre 20-25 millones de años. El ensayo de Ouchterlony no mostró identidad inmunológica entre T. australis y T. bullocki con Caudiverbera, mientras que T. venustus mostró identidad parcial. Mediante estos análisis fue posible reconocer dos grupos dentro de Telmatobufo. Los pesos moleculares de las albúminas fueron similares entre las especies de Telmatobufo y un poco más bajo en Caudiverbera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial (mt) genome ofTelmatobufo australisis a circular molecule of 17,989 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA genes. Gene order and content are identical to those previously reported from other neobatrachian mt genomes. Two protein-coding genes (COIandATP6) presumably used GTG as start codons whileCOIIIpossessed an incomplete stop codon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vera Candioti, M.F., Nuñez, J.J. and Úbeda, C. 2011. Development of the nidicolous tadpoles of Eupsophus emiliopugini (Anura: Cycloramphidae) until metamorphosis, with comments on systematic relationships of the species and its endotrophic developmental mode. - Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) : 27-45. Species of Eupsophus are unique within Alsodinae in having nidicolous tadpoles. They are characterized by traits typical of generalized exotrophic (e.g., oral disc and spiracular tube) and endotrophic larvae (e.g., scant pigmentation and large hind limbs). The larval morphology and development of E. emiliopugini, including external, buccal, and musculoskeletal features, is described herein. Like the larvae of other alsodines, these larvae have four lingual and four infralabial papillae, quadratoethmoid process, and an m. rectus cervicis with a double insertion. Among the traits exclusive to the genus are: the absence of the pseudopterygoid process and quadrato-orbital commissure; presence of the m. subarcualis rectus I with two slips; and presence of the m. subarcualis rectus II-IV inserting on Ceratobranchial II. The development and metamorphosis of Eupsophus include some characters that develop later (e.g., degeneration of mouthparts and chondrocranium with minimum calcification), characters that develop earlier (e.g., hind-limb appearance and jaw and suspensorium ossification), and characters that develop at the same time (e.g., most external features and cranial muscles) than in most exotrophic species. Some distinctive characters (third lower labial ridge absent, general configuration of the hyobranchial skeleton, skeletal development with retention of larval traits) resemble those of other endotrophic species, and the precocious ossification of jaws and suspensorium is shared with several direct-developing species among recent amphibians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The evolutionary history of southern South American organisms has been strongly influenced by Pleistocene climate oscillations. Amphibians are good models to evaluate hypotheses about the influence of these climate cycles on population structure and diversification of the biota, because they are sensitive to environmental changes and have restricted dispersal capabilities. We test hypotheses regarding putative forest refugia and expansion events associated with past climatic changes in the wood frog Batrachyla leptopus distributed along ∼1,000 km of length including glaciated and non-glaciated areas in southwestern Patagonia., Methods: Using three mitochondrial regions ( D-loop , cyt b , and coI ) and two nuclear loci ( pomc and crybA1 ), we conducted multilocus phylogeographic analyses and species distribution modelling to gain insights of the evolutionary history of this species. Intraspecific genealogy was explored with maximum likelihood, Bayesian, and phylogenetic network approaches. Diversification time was assessed using molecular clock models in a Bayesian framework, and demographic scenarios were evaluated using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) and extended Bayesian skyline plot (EBSP). Species distribution models (SDM) were reconstructed using climatic and geographic data., Results: Population structure and genealogical analyses support the existence of four lineages distributed north to south, with moderate to high phylogenetic support (Bootstrap > 70%; BPP > 0.92). The diversification time of B. leptopus ' populations began at ∼0.107 mya. The divergence between A and B lineages would have occurred by the late Pleistocene, approximately 0.068 mya, and divergence between C and D lineages was approximately 0.065 mya. The ABC simulations indicate that lineages coalesced at two different time periods, suggesting the presence of at least two glacial refugia and a postglacial colonization route that may have generated two southern lineages ( p  = 0.93, type I error: <0.094, type II error: 0.134). EBSP, mismatch distribution and neutrality indexes suggest sudden population expansion at ∼0.02 mya for all lineages. SDM infers fragmented distributions of B. leptopus associated with Pleistocene glaciations. Although the present populations of B. leptopus are found in zones affected by the last glacial maximum (∼0.023 mya), our analyses recover an older history of interglacial diversification (0.107-0.019 mya). In addition, we hypothesize two glacial refugia and three interglacial colonization routes, one of which gave rise to two expanding lineages in the south., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2020 Nuñez et al.)