Two new Poyntonophrynus species (Anura: Bufonidae) highlight the importance of Angolan centers of endemism
- Authors: Baptista, Ninda L , Pinto, Pedro V , Keates, Chad , Lobón-Rovira, Javier , Edwards, Shelley , Rödel, Mark-Oliver
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/461572 , vital:76214 , xlink:href="https://zoobank.org/7B5494CC-F8F2-46EA-BB73-D28B13D31CB6"
- Description: The pygmy toad genus Poyntonophrynus is endemic to southern Africa. The morphology of these small toads is conserved. They are usually dully colored, and are predominately adapted to arid conditions. During recent surveys in Angola we found Poyntonophrynus specimens that were not assignable to known species. Using an integrative approach, based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, morphology, osteology, biogeography and ecology, we identified three new lineages, and describe two of them as new species. All three lineages are closely related to P. pachnodes, an Angolan endemic species, but they are geographically isolated from it. The new species are morphologically distinguishable, and are associated with two of the most important Angolan centers of endemism: the western escarpment and the central highlands. In order to get a more comprehensive understanding of the osteology of the genus, we also provide an osteological characterization of P. dombensis, which was not available to date. Our findings i) increase the number of earless species in the genus Poyntonophrynus, ii) emphasize southwestern Africa as the cradle of diversification in this genus, iii) report the occurrence of Poyntonophrynus in humid environments, thus showing that these toads are ecologically more variable than previously thought, and iv) underline the importance of further biodiversity studies in Angolan centers of endemism.
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- Date Issued: 2023
Systematic revision of Afrogecko ansorgii (Boulenger, 1907)(Sauria: Gekkonidae) from western Angola
- Authors: Lobón-Rovira, Javier , Conradie, Werner C , Pinto, Pedro V , Keates, Chad , Edwards, Shelley , du Plessis, Anton , Branch, William R
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/461550 , vital:76212 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5124.4.1"
- Description: Here we provide the first phylogenetic analysis that include Afrogecko ansorgii and a detailed morphological comparison with other species of leaf-toed geckos. For this purpose, we used two mitochondrial (16S, ND2) and four nuclear (RAG1, RAG2, CMOS, PDC) genes to produce a robust phylogenetic reconstruction. This allowed us to show that A. ansorgii is not related as previously believed to circum-Indian Ocean leaf-toed geckos and is rather more closely related to other Malagasy leaf-toed geckos. Additionally, we explore and compare osteological variation in A. ansorgii skulls through High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography with previously published material. This allowed us to describe herein a new genus, Bauerius gen. nov., and additionally provide a detailed redescription of the species (including the first description of male material), supplementing the limited original description and type series, which consisted of only two females.
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- Date Issued: 2022
New insights into the taxonomic status, distribution and natural history of De Witte's Clicking Frog (Kassinula wittei Laurent, 1940)
- Authors: Conradie, Werner C , Keates, Chad , Lobón-Rovira, Javier , Vaz Pinto, Pedro , Verburgt, Luke , Baptista, Ninda L , Harvey, James , Júlio, Timóteo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/443572 , vital:74134 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-afzoo-v55-n4-a6
- Description: Kassinula is a monotypic genus of small frog in the family Hyperoliidae, only represented by Kassinula wittei. This species morphologically resembles both Kassina Girard, 1853 and Afrixalus Laurent, 1944, and its taxonomic status has been debated for decades. It has previously been subsumed within Kassina, and is currently placed as a sister genus to Afrixalus, although it has not been included in any phylogenetic studies until now. This species is poorly represented in museum collections and is only known from fewer than 35 specimens from southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjacent Zambia. Newly collected material from central Angola, a range extension of 400-800 km west of previously known localities, allowed us to revisit the taxonomic placement of the genus with the aid of phylogenetic analysis and shed light on its geographic distribution, morphology and natural history. Although our phylogenetic analysis is limited to a single mitochondrial gene (16S), we place Kassinula in the subfamily Hyperoliinae and closely related to Afrixalus, with a high degree of confidence. Further phylogenetic studies are needed before formally synonymising Afrixalus with Kassinula.
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- Date Issued: 2020