Phylogenetic patterns of diversification in a clade of Neotropical frogs (Anura: Aromobatidae: Mannophryne)

Abstract

We used partial sequences of mitochondrial 16S and cytochrome oxidase I genes to perform a phylogenetic study of collared frogs (Anura: Aromobatidae: Mannophryne), a genus endemic to Venezuela and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. We analysed 1.2 kb from 13 of the 15 described species of Mannophryne. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses support the monophyly of Mannophryne. Mannophryne consists of three deeply differentiated clades that split from each other in a relatively short period of time. The diversification of Mannophryne occurred well before the glacial-interglacial periods of the Quaternary. Our data support the taxonomic validity of M. olmonae, a species endemic to Tobago Island. Mannophryne olmonae is more closely related to the continental species Mannophryne riveroi than to the Trinidad island endemic Mannophryne trinitatis. As in most tropical clades of frogs, molecular evidence indicates that species richness in Mannophryne is largely underestimated and, consequently, current priorities for conservation are inadequate. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London.