[Herpetology • 2021] Uperoleia gurrumuli • Seen Only Once: An Evolutionarily Distinct Species of Toadlet (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Uperoleia) from the Wessel Islands of northern Australia

Uperoleia gurrumuli 

Catullo & Keogh, 2021

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5057.1.3

 facebook.com/gurrumul  

twitter.com/ReneeCatullo 

 

Abstract

There is a high rate of recent species discovery in remote regions of northern Australia, especially for amphibians and reptiles. The Wessel Islands, located in the northeastern corner of the Northern Territory, has recently been identified as a region of high species and phylogenetic endemism based on samples collected during the sole reptile and amphibian survey there in 1993. Using a phylogenetic approach, we describe a new, evolutionarily distinct species of Uperoleia endemic to the Wessel Islands. This description is based on three specimens, one female and two juveniles, which represent the only confirmed vouchers of the species. Due to the low number of specimens, this new species cannot be diagnosed morphologically from other closely related Uperoleia, and nothing is currently known about the mating call or basic biology. The discovery of this species provides further evidence for the islands’ importance as an area of endemism and identifies an urgent need for further surveys to document the unique biological diversity of the Wessel Islands.

Keywords: Amphibia, Anura, endemism, Uperoleia gurrumuli sp. nov., Phylogenetic Species Concept,  

Uperoleia gurrumuli sp. nov.

Renee A. Catullo and J. Scott Keogh. 2021. Seen Only Once: An Evolutionarily Distinct Species of Toadlet (Uperoleia: Myobatrachidae) from the Wessel Islands of northern Australia. Zootaxa. 5057(1); 52-68. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5057.1.3

 facebook.com/gurrumul/posts/409957503923153

 twitter.com/ReneeCatullo/status/1450662869637361665

[Herpetology • 2023] Geocrinia sparsiflora • Phylogeography, Hybrid Zones and Contemporary Species Boundaries in the South-eastern Australian Smooth Frogs (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Geocrinia)

Geocrinia sparsiflora

Parkin, Donnellan, Parkin, Shea & Rowley, 2023

DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107934 

australian.museum/blog

 

Highlights

• We observed patterns of divergence, secondary contact and mitonuclear discordance in the Australian smooth frog (Geocrinia) complex consistent with contraction and expansion of species’ ranges through glacial cycles.

• Our admixture analyses provide new insight into the dynamics of a comprehensively studied hybrid zone, confirming it is narrow (9–30 km wide), has remained spatiotemporally stable within an ecotone for > 50 years, and is likely influenced by female mate-choice bias.

• We describe an evolutionarily distinct, range-restricted taxon endemic to the Otway Plains and Ranges, south-western Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Paleo-climatic fluctuations have driven episodic changes in species distributions, providing opportunities for populations to diverge in isolation and hybridise following secondary contact. Studies of phylogeographic diversity and patterns of gene flow across hybrid zones can provide insight into contemporary species boundaries and help to inform taxonomic and conservation inferences. Here we explore geographic diversity within the acoustically divergent yet morphologically conserved south-eastern Australian smooth frog complex and assess gene flow across a narrow hybrid zone using mitochondrial nucleotide sequences and nuclear genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms. Our analyses reveal the presence of an evolutionarily distinct taxon restricted to the Otway Plains and Ranges, Victoria, which forms a narrow (9–30 km wide), spatiotemporally stable (>50 years) hybrid zone with Geocrinia laevis, which we describe herein as a new species.

 

 Keywords: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms, DArTseq, Mitonuclear discordance, Morphology, Bioacoustics, Taxonomy

Geocrinia sparsiflora

Thomas Parkin, Stephen C. Donnellan, Benjamin Parkin, Glenn M. Shea and Jodi J.L. Rowley. 2023. Phylogeography, Hybrid Zones and Contemporary Species Boundaries in the South-eastern Australian Smooth Frogs (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Geocrinia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 189, 107934. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107934

  australian.museum/blog/amri-news/smooth-operators 

[Herpetology • 2023] Mixophyes australis • A New Species of Barred Frog, Mixophyes (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from south-eastern Australia identified by Molecular Genetic Analyses

Mixophyes australis

 Mahony, Bertozzi, Guzinski, Hines & Donnellan, 2023

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5297.3.1

Abstract

Mixophyes are large ground-dwelling myobatrachid frogs from eastern Australia and New Guinea. Several of the species found in mid-eastern and south-eastern Australia are listed as threatened, due largely to declines presumably caused by the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. Given the wide distribution of several of these species and that their distributions cross well-known biogeographic boundaries that often correspond to deep genetic breaks or species boundaries among closely related vertebrates, we undertook a molecular genetic assessment of population structure across the range of each species to determine the presence of undescribed species. Of the four species of Mixophyes subject to molecular population genetic analyses, one, the Stuttering Frog (Mixophyes balbus), showed a level of diversity consistent with the presence of two species. Morphometric, meristic and bioacoustic analyses corroborate these distinctions, and a new species is described for the populations south of the Macleay River valley in mid-eastern New South Wales to east Gippsland in Victoria. Applying the IUCN Red List threat criteria the new species meets the conservation status assessment criteria for Endangered 2B1a,b because its extent of occupancy and area of occupancy are below the threshold value and it has declined and disappeared from the southern two thirds of its distribution over the past 30 years.

Keywords: IUCN Threat Category, Morphology, mtDNA, Nuclear DNA sequences, Species boundaries, Amphibia

 

Mixophyes australis

Michael J. Mahony, Terry Bertozzi, Jaro Guzinski, Harry B. Hines and Stephen C. Donnellan. 2023. A New Species of Barred Frog, Mixophyes (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from south-eastern Australia identified by molecular genetic analyses. Zootaxa. 5297(3); 301-336. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5297.3.1

phys.org/news/2023-06-species-frog-nsw-endangered.html