Prepollex diversity and evolution in Cophomantini (Anura: Hylidae: Hylinae)

Abstract:

Several species of Cophomantini are known to have an enlarged prepollex, commonly modified as an osseous spine. We surveyed the osteology and myology of the prepollex and associated elements of 94 of the 190 species of Cophomantini, sampling all genera, except Nesorohyla. Two distinct prepollex morphologies were found: a blade-shaped and a spine-shaped morphology. We described the observed variation in 17 discrete characters to study their evolution in the most inclusive phylogenetic hypothesis for Cophomantini. Both morphologies evolved multiple times during the evolutionary history of this clade, but the origin of the spine-shaped distal prepollex in Boana and Bokermannohyla is ambiguous. The articulation of metacarpal II with the prepollex through a medial expansion of the metacarpal proximal epiphysis is a synapomorphy for Boana. The shape of the curve of the spine, and a large post …

Año de publicación:

2022

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