A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Rhacophoridae with an emphasis on the Asian and African genera

Using characters from mitochondrial DNA to construct maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood trees, we performed a phylogenetic analysis on representative species of 14 genera: 12 that belong to the treefrog family Rhacophoridae and two, Amolops and Rana, that are not rhacophorids. Our results supp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 2002-08, Vol.24 (2), p.265-273
Main Authors: Wilkinson, Jeffery A, Drewes, Robert C, Tatum, Owatha L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
12S, 16S rRNA genes
Africa
Aglyptodactylus
Animals
Anura - classification
Anura - physiology
Asia
Boophis
Buergeria
Chirixalus
Chiromantis
Evolution, Molecular
Mantella
Mantidactylus
Molecular phylogeny
Molecular Sequence Data
mtDNA
Nyctixalus
Philautus
Phylogeny
Polypedates
Rhacophoridae
Rhacophorus
Taxonomy
Theloderma
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Summary:Using characters from mitochondrial DNA to construct maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood trees, we performed a phylogenetic analysis on representative species of 14 genera: 12 that belong to the treefrog family Rhacophoridae and two, Amolops and Rana, that are not rhacophorids. Our results support a phylogenetic hypothesis that depicts a monophyletic family Rhacophoridae. In this family, the Malagasy genera Aglyptodactylus, Boophis, Mantella, and Mantidactylus form a well-supported sister clade to all other rhacophorid genera, and Mantella is the sister taxon to Mantidactylus. Within the Asian/African genera, the genus Buergeria forms a well-supported clade of four species. The genera, except for Chirixalus, are generally monophyletic. An exception to this is that Polypedates dennysii clusters with species of Rhacophorus, suggesting that the taxonomy of the rhacophorids should be revised to reflect this relationship. Chirixalus is not monophyletic. Unexpectedly, there is strong support for Chirixalus doriae from Southeast Asia forming a clade with species of the African genus Chiromantis, suggesting that Chiromantis dispersed to Africa from Asia. Also, there is strong support for the sister taxon relationship of Chirixalus eiffingeri and Chirixalus idiootocus apart from other congeners.
ISSN:1055-7903
1095-9513
DOI:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00212-9