Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for Southeast Asian and Melanesian forest frogs (family Ceratobatrachidae)

Abstract

We present a near comprehensive, densely sampled, multilocus phylogenetic estimate of species relationships within the anuran family Ceratobatrachidae, a morphologically and ecologically diverse group of frogs from the island archipelagos of Southeast Asia and the South-West Pacific. Ceratobatrachid frogs consist of three clades: a small clade of enigmatic, primarily high-elevation, semi-aquatic Sundaland species currently assigned to Ingerana (for which we erect a new genus), which is the sister taxon of two large, monophyletic radiations, each situated on islands on either side of Wallace's Line. One radiation is composed of Philippine species of Platymantis and the other contains all taxa from the eastern Indonesian, New Guinean, Solomon, Bismarck, and Fijian archipelagos. Several additional genera (Batrachylodes, Discodeles, Ceratobatrachus, and Palmatorappia) are nested within Platymantis, and of these Batrachylodes and Discodeles are nonmonophyletic. To address the widespread paraphyly of the genus Platymantis and several additional nomenclatural issues, we undertook a wholesale nomenclatural reorganization of the family. Given our partially unresolved phylogeny, and in order to impart a conservative, stable taxonomy, involving a minimal number of genus-species couplet changes, we propose a conservative classification representing a few compromises. These changes are designed to preserve maximally the presumed original intent of taxonomy (widely used group names associated with morphological and ecological diversity of particular species or groups of species) while implementing a hierarchical system that is consistent with the estimate of phylogeny based on new molecular data.

A New Species of Stream Frog of the Genus Hylarana from the Mountains of Southern Mindanao Island, Philippines

“…Mindanao is one such island (Hall 1996(Hall , 1997(Hall , 1998(Hall , 2002Yumul et al 2003Yumul et al , 2004Yumul et al , 2008Yumul et al , 2009, indicating that a portion of today's closely related sympatric species might have evolved in isolation on paleoisland precursors in a manner similar to the model assumed for Sulawesi (Evans et al 1999(Evans et al , 2003a(Evans et al ,b, 2008McGuire et al 2007;Sanguila et al 2011;Setiadi et al 2011). Alternatively, it is equally plausible that the new species might have evolved as an isolated high-elevation lineage, in a manner similar to that presumed for some Philippine Platymantis (Alcala and Brown 1999;Brown et al 2015) and Limnonectes (Evans et al 2003a;Setiadi et al 2011).…”

“…NATIVE Philippine ranoid frogs include members of the families Ceratobatrachidae (1 species of Alcalus; 32 species of Platymantis; Alcala and Brown 1999;Siler et al 2010;Brown et al 2015), Dicroglossidae (2 species of Fejervarya, 2 species of Occidozyga, 10 species of Limnonectes ;Inger 1954;Alcala and Brown 1998;Evans et al 2003a;Siler et al 2009), and 15 members of the family Ranidae (2 species of Staurois and 13 species currently assigned to Hylarana and Sanguirana;Brown 2007;Arifin et al 2011;Fuiten et al 2011;Brown and Siler 2013). The latter can be divided into the nonendemic, but presumably native, Hylarana nicobariensis, seven endemic members of Sanguirana (formerly referred to as the Rana everetti complex: S. albotuberculata, S. aurantipunctata S. everetti, S. igorota, S. luzonensis, S. sanguinea, and S. tipanan; Brown et al 2000;Bossuyt et al 2006;Wiens et al 2009;Fuiten et al 2011), and five endemic members of the H. signata complex (H. grandocula, H. mangyanum, H. melanomenta, H. moellendorffi, and H. similis;Inger 1954;Brown and Guttman 2002;Brown and Siler 2013).…”

A new biogeographically disjunct giant gecko (Gehyra: Gekkonidae: Reptilia) from the East Melanesian Islands

“…Previous and unpublished work on vertebrate lineages from the Admiralty Islands suggest much more recent origins and closer affinities to more proximate landmasses, either the New Guinea mainland (e.g bent-toed geckos Cyrtodactylus, Brown Tree Snakes Boiga, and cuscuses Spilocuscus) (Whitmore et al 2015, Richmond et al 2014 or other East Melanesian islands such as New Britain, New Ireland and the Solomons (e.g. Brown et al 2015). While giant Gehyra tend to be highly arboreal and not regularly collected, it seems unlikely given the survey effort to date in the Solomon Islands and New Britain that they are present there but have gone completely undetected.…”

Additions to Philippine Slender Skinks of the Brachymeles bonitae Complex (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) III: a new species from Tablas Island

“…Studies attempting to provide taxonomic stability to non-monophyletic species complexes composed of multiple, recognized taxa Siler et al 2011aSiler et al , 2012aSiler et al , 2014aDavis et al 2014;Brown et al 2015) are vital to our understanding of Philippine biodiversity. For the genus Brachymeles, our understanding of species-level diversity has increased exponentially during the last decade (Siler 2010;Siler et al ,b, 2011aSiler et al ,b,c,d, 2012aDavis et al 2014;Geheber et al 2016), a direct result of three important factors: (1) continued biodiversity survey efforts at multiple sites throughout the Philippines, (2) collection of high quality, vouchered museum specimens with associated genetic data, and (3) careful inspection of historical museum specimens to identify populations with unique suites of diagnostic morphological characters .…”