Umilaela Arifin

A New Genus and Two New Species of Arboreal Toads from the Highlands of Sumatra with a Phylogeny of Sundaland Toad Genera

Abstract: We describe a new genus and two new species of toads from the Sumatran volcanoes Gunung Sorikmarapi and G. Kunyit, in the provinces of Sumatera Utara and Jambi, respectively. The new taxa can be distinguished from other genera, and each other, based on genetic differentiation, morphology, and advertisement call structure. We employ both nuclear and mitochondrial data to provide a phylogenetic hypothesis of relationships for the bufonid genera of the Sunda Shelf. While broadly corroborating previous studies, our results also shed light on the phylogenetic position of Pseudobufo. The new genus, Duttaphrynus, and Pseudobufo are basal to other Sunda Shelf genera in our phylogenies.

Coalescent species delimitation of a Sumatran parachuting frog

We conduct species delimitation of the widespread parachuting frog species Rhacophorus catamitus using samples from across the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. We use mitochondrial, genomic and morphological data, and find that R. catamitus is composed of three lineages corresponding to northern, central and southern lineages. Mitochondrial and genomic data show admixture or incomplete lineage sorting between the central and southern lineages, but deep divergence from the northern lineage. Coalescent species delimitation supports a three species model for this complex, and we recommend that the northern lineage be described as a new species. Our study highlights the power of coalescent species delimitation in an integrative framework for identifying unrecognised diversity in understudied tropical species complexes. We also emphasise the evolutionary importance of northern Sumatra, a region that harboured montane refugia during Pliocene–Pleistocene climate change, but has also been heavily affected by volcanic activity.