Species diversity of the Amolops monticola group (Anura, Ranidae) in southern Yunnan, China

Abstract

Due to morphological conservatism, taxonomic misidentification has frequently occurred in the Amolops monticola species group. In this study, based on previously published data and newly collected samples, phylogenetic and morphological analyses were conducted to investigate the species diversity of the A. monticola species group in southern Yunnan, China. Phylogenetic analyses based on three mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA, COI, and ND2) revealed that the types of A. compotrix form a clade and that this clade is sister to the clade formed by A. compotrix from Yunnan, A. truongi , and newly collected samples from Jinggu and Pingbian counties, indicating that A. compotrix and A. truongi are not reciprocally monophyletic. Based on the low genetic distances between A. compotrix and A. truongi and the absence of stable diagnostic morphological differences despite geographically structured morphometric variation, A. truongi is proposed as a junior synonym of A. compotrix . The samples from Xishuangbanna are grouped together with A. vitreus . Together with the morphological evidence, this result suggests that A. vitreus is a junior synonym of A. mengyangensis . In addition, the known distribution of A. deng is extended from southeastern Xizang and northwestern Yunnan to Pingbian County, southeastern Yunnan. Therefore, a total of six species belonging to the A. monticola group are distributed in southern Yunnan, namely A. compotrix , A. deng , A. huanglianshanensis , A. mengyangensis , A. wenshanensis , and A. iriodes . Neither nominal A. bellulus nor A. daorum is monophyletic, indicating that further studies are required to clarify the species diversity of the A. monticola group.