Carmen A. Úbeda

Phylogenetic relationships of a Patagonian frog radiation, the Alsodes + Eupsophus clade (Anura: Alsodidae), with comments on the supposed paraphyly of Eupsophus

The frog clade composed of the alsodid genera Alsodes + Eupsophus is the most species‐rich of the Patagonian endemic frog clades, including nearly 31 of the slightly more than 50 species of that region. The biology of this group of frogs is poorly known, its taxonomy quite complex (particularly Alsodes), and its diversity in chromosome number striking when compared with other frogs (collectively, there are species having 2n = 22, 2n = 26, 2n = 28, 2n = 30 or 2n = 34). We present a phylogenetic analysis of this Patagonian frog clade based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. We sequenced five mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I, 12S, 16S, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1) with three intervening tRNAs, and fragments of three nuclear genes (seven in absentia homolog 1, rhodopsin exon 1, RAG‐1), for a maximum of 6510 bp for multiple specimens from 26 of the 31 species. We recovered Eupsophus as polyphyletic, with E. antartandicus, E. sylvaticus, and E. taeniatus in Batrachylidae, in accordance with most previous hypotheses. Based on this result, we transfer E. antartandicus and E. taeniatus back to Batrachyla, and E. sylvaticus to Hylorina (resurrected from the synonymy of Eupsophus), remediating the paraphyly of Eupsophus. Our results strongly corroborate the monophyly of Alsodes + Eupsophus (sensu stricto), the individual monophyly of these genera, and the monophyly of the species groups of Eupsophus. They also show the non‐monophyly of all non‐monotypic species groups of Alsodes proposed in the past. Our results expose several taxonomic problems particularly in Alsodes, and to a lesser extent in Eupsophus. This phylogenetic context suggests a rich evolutionary history of karyotypic diversification in the clade, in part corroborating previous hypotheses. In Alsodes, we predict three independent transformations of chromosome number from the plesiomorphic 2n = 26. All these, strikingly, involve increments or reductions of pairs of haploid chromosomes. Finally, the phylogenetic pattern recovered for Alsodes and Eupsophus suggests a trans‐Andean origin and diversification of the group, with multiple, independent ingressions over cis‐Andean regions.

New parental care behaviours in two telmatobiine genera from temperate Patagonian forests: Batrachyla and Eupsophus (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

Parental care behaviour is described for the first time for two frog species of Batrachyla and three species of Eupsophus , from the Patagonian forests of Chile and Argentina. Males of Batrachyla species attend to eggs which are hidden under shelters on damp soil. Males of Eupsophus species remain by the clutch, and later on also by the tadpoles, in small aquatic microhabitats in the ground. The fact that some male of Eupsophus were found in advanced stages of weight loss confirms the hypothesis that they remain by the clutch until metamorphosis takes place. The parental care behaviour observed in Eupsophus and Batrachyla complements the reproductive strategy of their species, which have few eggs relatively rich in yolk and conceal the clutch in semi-terrestrial environments, and in Eupsophus , have unpigmented endotrophic tadpoles which remain confined to a dark, aquatic microhabitat until their metamorphosis is complete.

Alsodes Australis, A New Species of Leptodactylid Frog from the Temperate Nothofagus Forest of Southern Chile and Argentina

AbstractA new species of frog, Alsodes australis, is described from the temperate Nothofagus forest of southern Chile and Argentina, based on adults and tadpoles. Up to now, no sympatric occurrence of another congeneric species is known from the type locality. The genus comprises three species groups. From a karyological point of view this species is included in the monticola group, whose species have 26 chromosomes.

Prolonged larval development in the Critically Endangered Pehuenche’s frog Alsodes pehuenche: implications for conservation

Overwintering is an anuran strategy to survive in cold-temperate climates. Those aquatic species that withstand harsh conditions and short growing seasons are candidates for having long larval periods. Prolonged larval development, which includes overwintering for more than two years, has been reported for North-American and Euro-Asiatic species, but this strategy has been poorly studied in the Southern Hemisphere. Alsodes pehuenche is an endemic frog from the high Andes mountains of Argentina and Chile, recently categorized as Endangered by the Asociacion Herpetologica Argentina (AHA) and as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). We studied egg laying in this species and its larval development by marking tadpoles with elastomers. We found that eggs are laid in clumps at the beginning of summer. The larval cycle includes four winters, although a fifth winter should not be ruled out. This is the first study that demonstrates a long larval development (four winters) in South-American species and has important implications for conservation biology.