"Phylogeography of the reed frog Hyperolius castaneus (Anura: Hyperoliidae) from the Albertine Rift of Central Africa: Implications for taxonomy, biogeography and conservation" by Edgar Lehr

Article

Phylogeography of the reed frog Hyperolius castaneus (Anura: Hyperoliidae) from the Albertine Rift of Central Africa: Implications for taxonomy, biogeography and conservation

Zootaxa (2013)

Edgar Lehr, Illinois Wesleyan University
Eli Greenbaum, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX
Ulrich Sinsch, Institute of Integrated Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Koblenz–Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, D–56070 Koblenz, Germany
Federico Valdez, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso
Chifundera Kusamba, Laboratoire d’Herpétologie, Département de Biologie, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles

Link

Abstract

We examine the systematics of multiple populations of the Albertine Rift endemic amphibian Hyperolius castaneus, which currently incorporates four subspecies. Standard morphometric data were analyzed with principal components analyses and analyses of covariance. Phylogenetic analyses of two mitochondrial (16S, cyt b) and one nuclear (RAG1) genes were analyzed from 41 samples representing three subspecies. Results indicated some significant morphometric differences between the nominate subspecies H. c. castaneus and the Itombwe Plateau subspecies H. c. constellatus, and phylogenetic analyses of molecular data recovered these taxa as reciprocally monophyletic groups. We recognize these two allopatric populations as recently diverged, but distinct species, H. castaneus and H. constellatus. The subspecies H. c. submarginatus from the Kabobo Plateau is transferred to the synonymy of H. constellatus, but the status of the unsampled subspecies H. c. rhodogaster, described from mid-elevations of the western Itombwe Plateau, remains problematic. The phylogeographic pattern of our study resembles some, but not all, Albertine Rift vertebrates that have been examined with molecular data. Hyperolius constellatus is restricted to the Itombwe and Kabobo plateaus, which are of special conservation concern because of high levels of amphibian diversity and endemism, and multiple threats from deforestation, mining activities and road construction.

Keywords

Montane forest,
molecular phylogenetics,
morphology,
phylogeny,
taxonomy,
Hyperolius constellatus

Disciplines

Publication Date

Fall November 1, 2013

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3731.4.3

Publisher Statement

Zootaxa is published by Magnolia Press. For more information about this publication please visit Zootaxa online.

Citation Information

Edgar Lehr, Eli Greenbaum, Ulrich Sinsch, Federico Valdez, et al.. "Phylogeography of the reed frog Hyperolius castaneus (Anura: Hyperoliidae) from the Albertine Rift of Central Africa: Implications for taxonomy, biogeography and conservation" Zootaxa Vol. 3731 Iss. 4 (2013) p. 473 - 494 ISSN: 1175-5326
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/edgar_lehr/97/