Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of West Indian Toads (Anura: Bufonidae)
✍ Scribed by Jennifer B. Pramuk; Carla A. Hass; S.Blair Hedges
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2001
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 84 KB
- Volume
- 20
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1055-7903
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✦ Synopsis
Toads of the Bufo peltocephalus Group (Anura: Bufonidae) occur throughout the Greater Antilles (Cuba to the Virgin Islands), a geographic region of relatively high endemicity. Previous morphological and immunological studies suggested that the West Indian toads are a monophyletic lineage derived from Neotropical Bufo but were unable to clarify relationships within the group. We examined the evolutionary relationships and biogeography of this group of frogs by collecting approximately 2 kb of mitochondrial DNA sequence data from eight West Indian species and selected non-West Indian species from the New World and the Old World. Our analyses support the monophyly of native West Indian toads and a New World origin for the group. Relationships among the West Indian species are less certain, but a Cuban lineage is defined in most analyses.