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Most Chilean amphibians belong to the subfamily Telmatobiinae (Anura, Leptodactylidae). Several phylogenetic studies of Leptodactylidae and Telmatobiinae, based principally on morphological characters, have implicitly suggested closer relationships of some species of the Telmatobiinae with members of other subfamilies of leptodactylids, including the leptodactyline genus Pleurodema which is present in Chile. Furthermore, a growing number of molecular studies suggest a non monophyletic status for Telmatobiinae, although none of these studies have investigated the phylogenetic relationships of this subfamily. We compared partial sequences of the ribosomal mitochondrial genes 12S and 16S to determine the phylogenetic relationships of Chilean leptodactylids and its position within the modern anurans (Neobatrachia). We included 22 species from nine of the 10 genera of telmatobiines present in Chile (Alsodes, Atelognathus, Batrachyla, Caudiverbera, Eupsophus, Hylorina, Insuetophrynus, Telmatobufo and Telmatobius), two species of the genus Pleurodema, and one species of Rhinodermatidae, which is considered a leptodactylid derivative family by some authors. We also included 51 species representing most of the families that compose Neobatrachia. Phylogenetic reconstructions were performed using the methods of maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The topologies obtained in all the analyses indicate that Telmatobiinae is a polyphyletic assemblage, composed by species belonging to Hyloidea (most of the genera) and species more related to Australasian taxa (the clade Caudiverbera + Telmatobufo, defined as the tribe Calyptocephalellini). These molecular data support groups based on other kinds of evidence (Caudiverbera + Telmatobufo, Alsodes + Eupsophus and Batrachyla + Hylorina) and raise new phylogenetic hypotheses for several genera of telmatobiines (Atelognathus with Batrachyla and Hylorina, Insuetophrynus + Rhinoderma). The phylogenetic relationships recovered in this study suggest a multiple origin for Chilean temperate forest frogs and reveal an unexpected level of taxonomic diversity and evolutionary divergence among Chilean leptodactylids.Key words: Telmatobiinae, Calyptocephalellini, Rhinodermatidae, ribosomal mitochondrial genes, phylogenetic reconstruction. RESUMENLa mayoría de los anfibios chilenos pertenece a la subfamilia Telmatobiinae (Anura, Leptodactylidae). Varios estudios filogenéticos de Leptodactylidae y Telmatobiinae, basados principalmente en caracteres morfológicos, han sugerido implícitamente relaciones más estrechas de algunas especies de Telmatobiinae con miembros de otras subfamilias de leptodactílidos, incluyendo el género leptodactilino Pleurodema presente en Chile. Además, un número creciente de estudios moleculares sugieren un estatus no monofilético para Telmatobiinae, aunque ninguno de estos estudios ha investigado las relaciones filogenéticas de esta subfamilia. Secuencias parciales de los genes ribosomales mitocondriales 12S y 16S fueron comparadas para de...

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The amphibian genus Telmatobius is a diverse group of species that inhabits the Andes. This study analysed the phylogenetic relationships of 19 species described from the central Andes of Chile and Bolivia, and 12 undescribed populations of Chile. A molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA 16S and cytochrome b shows that the Chilean species belong to three groups: (1) the Telmatobius marmoratus group, widespread in the Chilean and Bolivian Altiplano; (2) the Telmatobius hintoni group, including the species Telmatobius philippii, Telmatobius fronteriensis, and Telmatobius huayra, occurring in the south‐western Altiplano of Chile and Bolivia, and (3) the Telmatobius zapahuirensis group, a new clade which also includes Telmatobius chusmisensis, Telmatobius dankoi, and Telmatobius vilamensis, restricted to western slopes of the Andes, and which was recovered as more closely related to the T. hintoni group than the T. marmoratus group. The divergence times between clades were traced to the late Pleistocene. The molecular phylogeny also confirmed that the groups of the Altiplano and western Andes slopes form a clade separated from the species that inhabit the eastern Andes (Telmatobius verrucosus and Telmatobius bolivianus groups), supporting the forest origin of the Altiplano groups proposed by several previous authors. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London