Cryptic Diversity in Toads of the Rhinella marina species group (Anura, Bufonidae) and a new species from Western Ecuador

Abstract:

Amphibians have the highest proportion of species at risk of extinction among vertebrates and therefore uncovering the extent of cryptic diversity among them is of considerable concern in areas where their diversity may be significantly underestimated. Within the Rhinella marina species complex of Giant or Cane Toads, R. horribilis (Wiegmann 1833) occurs from southern Texas through Central America and south along the Pacific Coast of South America to Ecuador west of the Andes Mountains. Within this extensive range, populations of R. horribilis, as currently recognized, have been suspected to conceal cryptic diversity. Based on extensive new collections of specimens from western Ecuador and the combined evidence of phylogenetic analyses based on mtDNA sequence variation, morphological data analyzed using both linear and geometric morphometric approaches, bioacoustics and environmental information, we tested whether populations of these toads from the western side of the Ecuadorian Andes represented an independent evolutionary lineage. Our results revealed that these western Ecuadorian populations constitute a well-supported, monophyletic clade that is distinctly different genetically, morphologically, acoustically and ecologically both from a sister clade composed of populations of R. horribilis from Central America and from populations in Amazon River drainage basin of eastern Ecuador ascribable to R. marina sensu stricto. The weight of evidence validates recognition of a new species, which we describe it here as R. bellus sp. nov. Our unmasking of this cryptic diversity with the R. marina species complex represents a …

Año de publicación:

2020

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