Taxonomic review ofScinax fuscomarginatus(Lutz, 1925) and related species (Anura; Hylidae)

Abstract

Scinax fuscomarginatus, Scinax parkeri, Scinax trilineatus, Scinax lutzorum, and Scinax pusillus are morphologically similar species with controversial taxonomy associated with open formations of South America east of the Andes. We used external morphology, advertisement call, and molecular sequences to assess the taxonomy of these species. Phylogenetic analysis of molecular data showed a well‐supported monophyletic group divided into two main clades and several subclades. Specimens of Hyla madeirae (synonym of S. fuscomarginatus) and those from Serra do Cachimbo correspond to distinct subclades, whereas the currently valid species were grouped into a single clade. This clade showed a marked substructure, but concordance of the recognized species to subclades was limited, showing S. fuscomarginatus to be paraphyletic with respect to S. parkeri, S. trilineatus, S. lutzorum, and S. pusillus. The high intrapopulation and intraspecific variation found in morphological characters did not allow us to differentiate amongst the currently recognized species. Similarly, none of them was distinguishable by morphometric analysis or advertisement call. Based on multiple evidence, we propose the synonymy of S. parkeri, S. trilineatus, S. lutzorum, and S. pusillus with S. fuscomarginatus, the revalidation of H. madeirae, and describe the specimens from Serra do Cachimbo as a new species. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London

High Species Richness of Scinax Treefrogs (Hylidae) in a Threatened Amazonian Landscape Revealed by an Integrative Approach

“…Taxonomic studies of the genus Scinax Wagler, 1830 are very challenging due to the large number of morphologically similar species, especially those belonging to the same species complexes [8–10]. In addition to difficulties in species recognition, the high number of cryptic species [7] and the lack of information about the geographical range of many species, call for the introduction of non-morphological methods into research on the taxonomy of the genus.…”

“…The integration of different lines of evidence is a powerful tool for solving taxonomic problems (e.g. [10, 11, 13]) and understanding evolutionary relationships between taxa [16]. …”

“…madeirae (Bokermann, 1964) was revalidated and S . villasboasi Brusquetti, Jansen, Barrio-Amarrós, Segalla and Haddad, 2014 was described from the eastern Brazilian Amazonia [10]. Therefore, 28 valid species of Scinax currently occur in Amazonia.…”

“…ruber Clade means it is already relatively species-rich. However, because evolutionary relationships among the species are still poorly known, addtional undescribed species may occur in this clade [7, 10, 20–21]. Our herpetological survey in southern Amazonia indicated that Scinax species richness has been underestimated, especially in poorly-sampled regions of the Purus-Madeira interfluve, and the east bank of the upper Madeira river, which are currently threatened by an extensive deforestation [22–24].…”

Scinax cruentommus (Anura: Hylidae) in the upper Rio Negro drainage, Amazonas state, Brazil, with the redescription of its advertisement call

“…In the cases of series, calls were emitted at rates of 1.1-2.3 calls per second (x = 1.6 ± 0.2). Call duration varied from 216 to 336 ms (x = 269.0 ± (Duellman 1986), S. exiguus (Duellman 1986), S. madeirae (Brusquetti et al 2014), and S. wandae (Pyburn Duellman 1986, Duellman andWiens 1993).…”