Systematics of the <I>Rhinella margaritifera</I> complex (<I>Anura, Bufonidae</I>) from western Ecuador and Panama with insights in the biogeography of <I>Rhinella alata</I>

Abstract

The Rhinellamargaritifera species group consists of 17 species of toads distributed in tropical and subtropical South America and eastern Central America. The identity of some of its species is poorly understood and there are numerous undescribed cryptic species. Among them, the status of Rhinellamargaritifera is one of the most problematic. Its range includes lowland rainforests separated by the Andes, the Chocoan rainforest to the west and the Amazonian rainforest to the east. This distribution is puzzling because the Andes are an old and formidable barrier to gene flow and therefore should generate vicariant speciation between disjunct lowland populations. Herein we clarify the taxonomy of populations of the Rhinellamargaritifera complex from Central America and the Chocó region of South America. The morphological and genetic variation of Rhinellamargaritifera was examined from 39 populations from Chocó, 24 from the upper Amazon region of Ecuador, and 37 from Panama, including the holotype of the Panamanian Rhinellaalata. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on mitochondrial genes 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and the nuclear gene Tyrosinase (Tyr). The genetic and morphological data show that Panamanian and Chocoan populations are conspecific. In the phylogeny, populations from Chocó and Panama form a well-supported clade. The morphology of the holotype of Rhinellaalata falls within the variation range of Panamanian and Chocoan populations. Based on all this evidence, we assign the populations from western Ecuador and Panama to Rhinellaalata and demonstrate that the unusual distribution pattern of &quot;Rhinellamargaritifera&quot; on both sides of the Andes was an artifact of incorrectly defined species boundaries.