From Amazonia to the Atlantic forest: Molecular phylogeny of Phyzelaphryninae frogs reveals unexpected diversity and a striking biogeographic pattern emphasizing conservation challenges

• Published in: Molecular phylogenetics and evolution Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 547 - 561
• Main Authors: Fouquet, Antoine, Loebmann, Daniel, Castroviejo-Fisher, Santiago, Padial, José M., Orrico, Victor G.D., Lyra, Mariana L., Roberto, Igor Joventino, Kok, Philippe J.R., Haddad, Célio F.B., Rodrigues, Miguel T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2012
• Subjects: Adelophryne; Amazonia; Animals; Anura; Anura - classification; Atlantic forest; Bayes Theorem; biogeography; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Cladding; Climate change; Conservation; Conservation of Natural Resources; Cryptic species; Ecosystem; Forests; Frogs; monophyly; Neotropical diversity; North America; Phylogeny; Phylogeography; Phyzelaphryne; Populations; Reconstruction; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Analysis, DNA; South America; species diversity; tropical forests; tropics; South America; Amazonia; North America; South America, Amazonia; Atlantic forest; Amazonia; Cryptic species; Phyzelaphryne; Adelophryne; Neotropical diversity
• ISSN: 1055-7903; 1095-9513
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.07.012

[Display omitted] ► Phyzelaphryninae include poorly documented, secretive, and minute frogs with an unusual distribution pattern. ► Deep subdivisions exist within Adelophryne and Phyzelaphryne. ► Phyzelaphryninae originated in Amazonia and dispersed during early Miocene to the Atlantic forest. ► The actual number of species in Phyzelaphryninae is at least twice higher than currently recognized. ► Such results stress out challenges for conservation particularly in the northern Atlantic forest. Documenting the Neotropical amphibian diversity has become a major challenge facing the threat of global climate change and the pace of environmental alteration. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed that the actual number of species in South American tropical forests is largely underestimated, but also that many lineages are millions of years old. The genera Phyzelaphryne (1 sp.) and Adelophryne (6 spp.), which compose the subfamily Phyzelaphryninae, include poorly documented, secretive, and minute frogs with an unusual distribution pattern that encompasses the biotic disjunction between Amazonia and the Atlantic forest. We generated >5.8kb sequence data from six markers for all seven nominal species of the subfamily as well as for newly discovered populations in order to (1) test the monophyly of Phyzelaphryninae, Adelophryne and Phyzelaphryne, (2) estimate species diversity within the subfamily, and (3) investigate their historical biogeography and diversification. Phylogenetic reconstruction confirmed the monophyly of each group and revealed deep subdivisions within Adelophryne and Phyzelaphryne, with three major clades in Adelophryne located in northern Amazonia, northern Atlantic forest and southern Atlantic forest. Our results suggest that the actual number of species in Phyzelaphryninae is, at least, twice the currently recognized species diversity, with almost every geographically isolated population representing an anciently divergent candidate species. Such results highlight the challenges for conservation, especially in the northern Atlantic forest where it is still degraded at a fast pace. Molecular dating revealed that Phyzelaphryninae originated in Amazonia and dispersed during early Miocene to the Atlantic forest. The two Atlantic forest clades of Adelophryne started to diversify some 7Ma minimum, while the northern Amazonian Adelophryne diversified much earlier, some 13Ma minimum. This striking biogeographic pattern coincides with major events that have shaped the face of the South American continent, as we know it today.