A little frog leaps a long way: compounded colonizations of the Indian Subcontinent discovered in the tiny Oriental frog genus Microhyla (Amphibia: Microhylidae)

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2020-07, Vol.8, p.e9411-e9411, Article e9411
• Main Authors: Gorin, Vladislav A, Solovyeva, Evgeniya N, Hasan, Mahmudul, Okamiya, Hisanori, Karunarathna, D M S Suranjan, Pawangkhanant, Parinya, de Silva, Anslem, Juthong, Watinee, Milto, Konstantin D, Nguyen, Luan Thanh, Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon, Haas, Alexander, Bickford, David P, Das, Indraneil, Poyarkov, Nikolay A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biogeography; Body size; Calling behavior; Cenozoic; Eocene; Evolutionary Studies; Frogs; Glyphoglossus; Microhyla; Microhylinae; Miniaturization; Miocene; Mitochondrial DNA; Molecular phylogeny; Narrow-mouthed frogs; Oligocene; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Southeast Asia; Species richness; Taxonomy; Zoology
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9411

Frogs of the genus include some of the world's smallest amphibians and represent the largest radiation of Asian microhylids, currently encompassing 50 species, distributed across the Oriental biogeographic region. The genus remains one of the taxonomically most challenging groups of Asian frogs and was found to be paraphyletic with respect to large-sized fossorial . In this study we present a time-calibrated phylogeny for frogs in the genus , and discuss taxonomy, historical biogeography, and morphological evolution of these frogs. Our updated phylogeny of the genus with nearly complete taxon sampling includes 48 nominal species and several undescribed candidate species. Phylogenetic analyses of 3,207 bp of combined mtDNA and nuDNA data recovered three well-supported groups: the clade, Southeast Asian II clade (includes species group), and a diverse I clade including all other species. Within the largest major clade of are seven well-supported subclades that we identify as the , , , , , , and species groups. The phylogenetic position of 12 poorly known species is clarified for the first time. These phylogenetic results, along with molecular clock and ancestral area analyses, show the assemblage to have originated in Southeast Asia in the middle Eocene just after the first hypothesized land connections between the Indian Plate and the Asian mainland. While and II remained within their ancestral ranges, I expanded its distribution generally east to west, colonizing and diversifying through the Cenozoic. The Indian Subcontinent was colonized by members of five species groups independently, starting with the end Oligocene-early Miocene that coincides with an onset of seasonally dry climates in South Asia. Body size evolution modeling suggests that four groups of have independently achieved extreme miniaturization with adult body size below 15 mm. Three of the five smallest species are obligate phytotelm-breeders and we argue that their peculiar reproductive biology may be a factor involved in miniaturization. Body size increases in seem to be associated with a burrowing adaptation to seasonally dry habitats. Species delimitation analyses suggest a vast underestimation of species richness and diversity in and reveal 15-33 undescribed species. We revalidate , synonymize with , and provide insights on taxonomic statuses of a number of poorly known species. Further integrative studies, combining evidence from phylogeny, morphology, advertisement calls, and behavio