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Polyphyly of Asian Tree Toads, Genus Pedostibes Günther, 1876 (Anura: Bufonidae), and the Description of a New Genus from Southeast Asia
Chan, Kin Onn Grismer, L. Lee Zachariah, Anil Brown, Rafe M. Abraham, Robin Kurian
Chan, Kin Onn
Grismer, L. Lee
Zachariah, Anil
Brown, Rafe M.
Abraham, Robin Kurian
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Abstract
The Asian Tree Toad genus Pedostibes, as currently understood, exhibits a conspicuously disjunct distribution, posing several immediate questions relating to the biogeography and taxonomy of this poorly known group. The type species, P. tuberculosus and P. kempi, are known only from India, whereas P. hosii, P. rugosus, and P. everetti are restricted to Southeast Asia. Several studies have shown that these allopatric groups are polyphyletic, with the Indian Pedostibes embedded within a primarily South Asian clade of toads, containing the genera Adenomus, Xanthophryne, and Duttaphrynus. Southeast Asian Pedostibes on the other hand, are nested within a Southeast Asian clade, which is the sister lineage to the Southeast Asian river toad genus Phrynoidis. We demonstrate that Indian and Southeast Asian Pedostibes are not only allopatric and polyphyletic, but also exhibit significant differences in morphology and reproductive mode, indicating that the Southeast Asian species’ are not congeneric with the true Pedostibes of India. As a taxonomic solution, we describe a new genus, Rentapia gen. nov. to accommodate the Southeast Asian species.
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A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.
Date
2016-01-20
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Public Library of Science
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Chan KO, Grismer LL, Zachariah A, Brown RM, Abraham RK. Polyphyly of Asian Tree Toads, Genus Pedostibes Günther, 1876 (Anura: Bufonidae), and the Description of a New Genus from Southeast Asia. Lumbsch HT, ed. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(1):e0145903. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145903.