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Lobón-Rovira J, Conradie W, Baptista NL, Vaz Pinto P. A new species of feather-tailed leaf-toed gecko, Kolekanos Heinicke, Daza, Greenbaum, Jackman, Bauer, 2014 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the poorly explored savannah of western Angola. Zookeys 2022; 1127:91-116. [PMID: 36760357 PMCID: PMC9836571 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1127.84942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
We here describe a new species of feather-tailed leaf-toed gecko, Kolekanos, from southern Benguela Province, Angola, based on morphological and osteological evidence, supported by phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial data. The new species adds to the rapidly growing and newly-recognised endemic biodiversity of Angola, doubling the number of Kolekanos species, breaking the pattern observed within other closely-related African members of a clade of circum-Indian Ocean leaf-toed geckos - Ramigekko, Cryptactites and Afrogecko - all of which are presently monotypic. The new species is easily distinguished from K.plumicaudus, based on spine-like (as opposed to feather-like) scales on the margins of the original tail. Phylogenetic analyses also recovered the new taxon as monophyletic, with a well-supported sister relationship to K.plumicaudus, from which it differs by a substantial 24.1% NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 2 mitochondrial gene uncorrected p-distance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Lobón-Rovira
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal,Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal,BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Werner Conradie
- Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O. Box 13147, Humewood 6013, South Africa,Department of Nature Conservation Management, Natural Resource Science and Management Cluster, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George, South Africa
| | - Ninda L. Baptista
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal,Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal,BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal,Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla (ISCED-Huíla), Rua Sarmento Rodrigues, Lubango, Angola
| | - Pedro Vaz Pinto
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal,BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal,Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla (ISCED-Huíla), Rua Sarmento Rodrigues, Lubango, Angola,Fundação Kissama, Rua 60 Casa 560, Lar do Patriota, Luanda, Angola
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Taylor PJ, Strydom E, Richards L, Markotter W, Toussaint DC, Kearney T, Cotterill FPD(W, Howard A, Weier SM, Keith M, Neef G, Mamba ML, Magagula S, Monadjem A. Integrative taxonomic analysis of new collections from the central Angolan highlands resolves the taxonomy of African pipistrelloid bats on a continental scale. Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Ten years ago, the genus-level and species-level taxonomy of African pipistrelloid bats was in a state of flux. In spite of advances in the past decade, gaps in collecting from species-rich regions like Angola have hampered efforts to revise this group. We report on new collections of pipistrelle-like bats from the poorly sampled central highlands of Angola (1000–1500 m a.s.l.) as well as comparative material from lower-lying areas of Eswatini and South Africa. Specimens identified as Neoromicia anchietae, collected 400–700 km east of the holotype locality in the western highlands of Angola, were genetically and morphologically distinctive from N. anchietae s.l. from South Africa and Eswatini. We describe herein this latter lineage as a distinct species from low-lying areas of south-eastern Africa, distinct from N. anchietae s.s., which is therefore restricted to the central and western Angolan highlands. We also identified shallow to deep genetic divergence between different African regions in other recognized pipistrelloid species, such as conspecificity between the long-eared species Laephotis angolensis from Angola and Laephotis botswanae from northern Botswana, northern Namibia and south-western Zambia. Our phylogeny supports a recently proposed generic classification of African pipistrelloid bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter John Taylor
- Afromontane Research Unit & Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State , Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba 9866 , South Africa
- School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda , Thohoyandou, 0950 , South Africa
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
| | - Erika Strydom
- Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria 0002 , South Africa
| | - Leigh Richards
- Durban Natural Science Museum , P.O. Box 4085, Durban 4000 , South Africa
| | - Wanda Markotter
- Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria 0002 , South Africa
| | - Dawn Cory Toussaint
- School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda , Thohoyandou , 0950, South Africa
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
| | - Teresa Kearney
- Ditsong Natural History Museum , Pretoria 0002 , South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria , Private Bag 20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria , South Africa
| | - F P D (Woody) Cotterill
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
- Geoecodynamics Research Hub, c/o Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch , Private Bag X1 Matieland, 7602, Stellenbosch , South Africa
| | - Alexandra Howard
- Afromontane Research Unit & Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State , Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba 9866 , South Africa
| | - Sina Monika Weier
- Afromontane Research Unit & Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State , Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba 9866 , South Africa
- School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda , Thohoyandou, 0950 , South Africa
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
| | - Mark Keith
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag 20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria , South Africa
| | - Gӧtz Neef
- Wild Bird Trust, National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project , 27 Wolfridge Road, Hogsback 5721 , South Africa
| | - Mnqobi L Mamba
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eswatini , Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni , Eswatini
| | - Siphesihle Magagula
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eswatini , Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni , Eswatini
| | - Ara Monadjem
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria , Private Bag 20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria , South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eswatini , Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni , Eswatini
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Nečas T, Kielgast J, Nagy ZT, Kusamba Chifundera Z, Gvoždík V. Systematic position of the Clicking Frog (Kassinula Laurent, 1940), the problem of chimeric sequences and the revised classification of the family Hyperoliidae. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 174:107514. [PMID: 35589055 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The systematics of the African frog family Hyperoliidae has undergone turbulent changes in last decades. Representatives of several genera have not been genetically investigated or with only limited data, and their phylogenetic positions are thus still not reliably known. This is the case of the De Witte's Clicking Frog (Kassinula wittei) which belongs to a monotypic genus. This miniature frog occurs in a poorly studied region, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Zambia, Angola. So far it is not settled whether this genus belongs to the subfamily Kassininae as a relative of the genus Kassina, or to the subfamily Hyperoliinae as a relative of the genus Afrixalus. Here we present for the first time a multilocus phylogenetic reconstruction (using five nuclear and one mitochondrial marker) of the family Hyperoliidae, including Kassinula. We demonstrate with high confidence that Kassinula is a member of Hyperoliinae belonging to a clade also containing Afrixalus (sub-Saharan Africa), Heterixalus (Madagascar) and Tachycnemis (Seychelles). We find that Kassinula represents a divergent lineage (17-25 Mya), which supports its separate genus-level status, but its exact systematic position remains uncertain. We propose to name the clade to which the above four genera belong as the tribe Tachycnemini Channing, 1989. A new taxonomy of the family Hyperoliidae was recently proposed by Dubois et al. (2021: Megataxa 5, 1-738). We demonstrate here that the new taxonomy was based on a partially erroneous phylogenetic reconstruction resulting from a supermatrix analysis of chimeric DNA sequences combining data from two families, Hyperoliidae and Arthroleptidae (the case of Cryptothylax). We therefore correct the erroneous part and propose a new, revised suprageneric taxonomy of the family Hyperoliidae. We also emphasize the importance of inspecting individual genetic markers before their concatenation or coalescent-based tree reconstructions to avoid analyses of chimeric DNA sequences producing incorrect phylogenetic reconstructions. Especially when phylogenetic reconstructions are used to propose taxonomies and systematic classifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadeáš Nečas
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jos Kielgast
- Section for Freshwater Biology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Section for Marine Living Resources, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Vejlsøvej 39, 8600 Silkeborg, Denmark
| | | | - Zacharie Kusamba Chifundera
- Laboratory of Herpetology, Department of Biology, Natural Science Research Centre, Lwiro, Democratic Republic of the Congo; National Pedagogical University, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Václav Gvoždík
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; National Museum, Department of Zoology, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Baptista NL, Pinto PV, Keates C, Edwards S, Rdel MO, Conradie W. A new species of red toad, Schismaderma Smith, 1849 (Anura: Bufonidae), from central Angola. Zootaxa 2021; 5081:301-332. [PMID: 35391006 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5081.3.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
A new species of red toad, from the previously monotypic genus Schismaderma, is described. The new species was found in Malanje Province, and seems endemic to central Angola, occurring approximately 500 km west of the closest known records of Schismaderma carens. Unusual adult colouration and geographical distance to remaining S. carens populations suggested specific differentiation. In an integrative approach, we compared the red toads from central Angola with S. carens from across the entire range, including molecular data, morphology of adults and tadpoles, and male advertisement calls. Phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) and nuclear (CXCR4, RAG1) markers, retrieved the Angolan clade as monophyletic, and revealed intra-specific substructuring among the remaining Schismaderma. Genetic distances supported specific differentiation of the central Angolan material compared with other S. carens. Adults from the new Angolan species have bolder ventral patterning and smaller body size than S. carens. No obvious differences were detected between the tadpoles and the advertisement calls of the two Schismaderma species. This discovery adds to the knowledge of the herpetofauna of the Angolan Miombo woodlands, a poorly understood ecoregion, and likely more biodiverse than previously assumed. The result of past river basin dynamics in central Angola likely led to the evolution of this new species of Schismaderma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ninda L Baptista
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genticos, Laboratrio Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrrio de Vairo, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairo, Portugal. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Cincias, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Pedro Vaz Pinto
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genticos, Laboratrio Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrrio de Vairo, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairo, Portugal. Fundao Kissama, Luanda, Angola.
| | - Chad Keates
- Zoology and Entomology Molecular Lab, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa 8South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Makhanda, South Africa.
| | - Shelley Edwards
- Zoology and Entomology Molecular Lab, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa.
| | - Mark-Oliver Rdel
- Museum fr NaturkundeLeibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity ResearchBBIB, Altensteinstr. 34, 14195 Berlin, Germany .
| | - Werner Conradie
- South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Makhanda, South Africa.
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Ernst R, Kehlmaier C, Baptista NL, Pinto PV, Branquima MF, Dewynter M, Fouquet A, Ohler A, Schmitz A. Filling the gaps: The mitogenomes of Afrotropical egg-guarding frogs based on historical type material and a re-assessment of the nomenclatural status of Alexteroon Perret, 1988 (Hyperoliidae). ZOOL ANZ 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2021.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Nečas T, Badjedjea G, Vopálenský M, Gvoždík V. Congolius, a new genus of African reed frog endemic to the central Congo: A potential case of convergent evolution. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8338. [PMID: 33863953 PMCID: PMC8052363 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87495-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The reed frog genus Hyperolius (Afrobatrachia, Hyperoliidae) is a speciose genus containing over 140 species of mostly small to medium-sized frogs distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. Its high level of colour polymorphism, together with in anurans relatively rare sexual dichromatism, make systematic studies more difficult. As a result, the knowledge of the diversity and taxonomy of this genus is still limited. Hyperolius robustus known only from a handful of localities in rain forests of the central Congo Basin is one of the least known species. Here, we have used molecular methods for the first time to study the phylogenetic position of this taxon, accompanied by an analysis of phenotype based on external (morphometric) and internal (osteological) morphological characters. Our phylogenetic results undoubtedly placed H. robustus out of Hyperolius into a common clade with sympatric Cryptothylax and West African Morerella. To prevent the uncovered paraphyly, we place H. robustus into a new genus, Congolius. The review of all available data suggests that the new genus is endemic to the central Congolian lowland rain forests. The analysis of phenotype underlined morphological similarity of the new genus to some Hyperolius species. This uniformity of body shape (including cranial shape) indicates that the two genera have either retained ancestral morphology or evolved through convergent evolution under similar ecological pressures in the African rain forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadeáš Nečas
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Květná 8, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Gabriel Badjedjea
- Biodiversity Monitoring Centre, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity of Aquatic Resources, University of Kisangani, Avenue Munyororo 550, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Michal Vopálenský
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Prosecká 76, 190 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Gvoždík
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Květná 8, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Department of Zoology, National Museum, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00, Prague, Czech Republic.
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