Consequences of parallel miniaturisation in Microhylinae (Anura, Microhylidae), with the description of a new genus of diminutive South East Asian frogs

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The genus Microhyla Tschudi, 1838 includes 52 species and is one of the most diverse genera of the family Microhylidae, being the most species-rich taxon of the Asian subfamily Microhylinae. The recent, rapid description of numerous new species of Microhyla with complex phylogenetic relationships has made the taxonomy of the group especially challenging. Several recent phylogenetic studies suggested paraphyly of Microhyla with respect to Glyphoglossus Günther, 1869, and revealed three major phylogenetic lineages of mid-Eocene origin within this assemblage. However, comprehensive works assessing morphological variation among and within these lineages are absent. In the present study we investigate the generic taxonomy of Microhyla-Glyphoglossus assemblage based on a new phylogeny including 57 species, comparative morphological analysis of skeletons from cleared-and-stained specimens for 23 species, and detailed descriptions of generalized osteology based on volume-rendered micro-CT scans for five speciesaltogether representing all major lineages within the group. The results confirm three highly divergent and well-supported clades that correspond with external and osteological morphological characteristics, as well as respective geographic distribution. Accordingly, acknowledging ancient divergence between these lineages and their significant morphological differentiation, we propose to consider these three lineages as distinct genera: Microhyla sensu stricto, Glyphoglossus, and a newly described genus, Nanohyla gen. nov.

Original languageEnglish
JournalZoosystematics and Evolution
Volume97
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)21-54
Number of pages34
ISSN1435-1935
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research to Nikolay A. Poyarkov (RFBR grant No. 19-34-90167). Creation of dataset accessed on MorphoSource was made possible by the University of Florida (The oVert (openVertebrate) Thematic Collection Network (TCN); NSF DBI-1701714; NSF DBI-1702263). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research to Nikolay A. Poyarkov (RFBR grant No. 1934-90167). Creation of dataset accessed on MorphoSource was made possible by the University of Florida (The oVert (openVertebrate) Thematic Collection Network (TCN); NSF DBI-1701714; NSF DBI-1702263). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Vladislav A. Gorin et al. All Rights Reserved.

    Research areas

  • Amphibians, integrative taxonomy, micro-computed tomography, Nanohyla gen. nov, narrow-mouthed frogs, osteology, sexual dimorphism, taxonomic revision

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