Phylogenomic analysis of evolutionary relationships in Ranitomeya poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) using ultraconserved elements

The use of genome-scale data in phylogenetics has enabled recent strides in determining the relationships between taxa that are taxonomically problematic because of extensive morphological variation. Here, we employ a phylogenomic approach to infer evolutionary relationships within Ranitomeya (Anura: Dendrobatidae), an Amazonian lineage of poison frogs consisting of 16 species with remarkable diversity in color pattern, range size, and parental care behavior. We infer phylogenies with all described species of Ranitomeya from ultraconserved nuclear genomic elements (UCEs) and also estimate divergence times. Our results differ from previous analyses regarding interspecific relationships. Notably, we find that R. toraro and R. defleri are not sister species but rather distantly related, contrary to previous analyses based on smaller genetic datasets. We recover R. uakarii as paraphyletic, designate certain populations formerly assigned to R. fantastica from Peru as R. summersi, and transfer the French Guianan and eastern Brazilian R. amazonica populations to R. variabilis. By clarifying both inter- and intraspecific relationships within Ranitomeya, our study paves the way for future tests of hypotheses on color pattern evolution and historical biogeography.

A new species of Andean poison frog, Andinobates (Anura: Dendrobatidae), from the northwestern Andes of Colombia

The poison frogs of the Colombian Andes, Pacific lowlands and Panama have been recently recognized as a new, monophyletic and well-supported genus: Andinobates. The species richness and distribution within Andinobates remain poorly understood due to the paucity of geographic, genetic and phenotypic data. Here we use a combination of molecular, bioacoustic and morphometric evidence to describe a new species of Andean poison frog: Andinobates cassidyhornae sp. nov. from the high elevation cloud forests of the Colombian Cordillera Occidental, in the northwestern Andes. The new species is associated to the bombetes group and characterized by a unique combination of ventral and dorsal color patterns. Data on 1119 bp from two mitochondrial markers allowed us to reject the null hypotheses that A. cassidyhornae sp. nov. is part of the phenotypically similar and geographically less distant species: A. opisthomelas, A. virolinensis or A. bombetes. The best available phylogenetic trees and the genetic distance to other Andinobates species further support this decision. Altogether, the advertisement call parameters unambiguously separated A. cassidyhornae sp. nov. calls from the calls of the three closest species. The new species adds to a poorly known and highly endangered genus of poison frogs that requires further studies and urgent conservation measures.