Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae)
Author
Duellman, William E.
Author
Marion, Angela B.
Author
Hedges, Blair
text
Zootaxa
2016
4104
1
1
109
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4104.1.1
9b3e7716-1099-48ca-803b-620c25d788f1
1175-5326
265809
D598E724-C9E4-4BBA-B25D-511300A47B1D
Bromeliohyla
,
Duellmanohyla
,
and
Ptychohyla
One clade contains one species of
Bromeliohyla
and seven species of
Ptychohyla
.
Bromeliohyla bromeliacia
(Taylor)
is the well-supported sister of the clade of
Ptychohyla salvadorensis
(Mertens)
plus three species of
Duellmanohyla
. Moreover,
Ptychohyla spinipollex
Schmidt
is sister to that clade of five species. Although not notably different as adults, except in coloration (
Fig. 6
), egg deposition sites and tadpoles of the species in these three genera are distinctly different (
Campbell & Smith 1992
;
Duellman 2001
).
Bromeliohyla
is an inhabitant of arboreal bromeliads where eggs are deposited in water in the axils of the leaves, and tadpoles have small ventral oral discs with a LTRF of 2/3–2/5, long tooth rows, a depressed body, massive caudal musculature, and shallow fins.
Duellmanohyla
breeds in streams, where tadpoles develop in quiet pools and have a large, pendant oral discs with a LTRF of 2/2 or 2/3, short tooth rows, a rounded body, well-developed caudal musculature, and fins nearly as high as the caudal musculature at midlength of the tail.
Ptychohyla
also breeds in streams, where tadpoles develop in riffles and have large ventral oral discs with a LTRF of 3/6–6/9, long tooth rows, a rounded body, well-developed caudal musculature, and fins nearly as high as the caudal musculature at midlength of the tail. The tadpole of
Ptychohyla salvadorensis
has a large ventral mouth with 2/3–2/5, entirely unlike tadpoles of
Duellmanohyla
(
McCranie and Wilson 2002
)
.
Low nodal support values in the clade containing
Bromeliohyla
,
Duellmanohyla
, and
Ptychohyla salvadorensis
, indicate that the existing molecular data are unable to resolve their relationships. Although the deep nesting of
P. salvadorensis
in this clade suggests that
Ptychohyla
is paraphyletic, more molecular data are needed to corroborate this. Therefore, we retain this species in the genus
Ptychohyla
.