Dataset Information

Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger).

ABSTRACT: The Himalaya presents an outstanding geologically active orogen and biodiversity hotspot. However, our understanding of the historical biogeography of its fauna is far from comprehensive. Many taxa are commonly assumed to have originated from China-Indochina and dispersed westward along the Himalayan chain. Alternatively, the "Tibetan-origin hypothesis" suggests primary diversification of lineages in Paleo-Tibet, and secondary diversification along the slopes of the later uplifted Greater Himalaya. We test these hypotheses in high-mountain megophryid anurans (Scutiger). Extensive sampling from High Asia, and analyses of mitochondrial (2839?bp) and nuclear DNA (2208?bp), using Bayesian and Maximum likelihood phylogenetics, suggest that the Himalayan species form a distinct clade, possibly older than those from the eastern Himalaya-Tibet orogen. While immigration from China-Indochina cannot be excluded, our data may indicate that Himalayan Scutiger originated to the north of the Himalaya by colonization from Paleo-Tibet and then date back to the Oligocene. High intraspecific diversity of Scutiger implies limited migration across mountains and drainages along the Himalaya. While our study strengthens support for a "Tibetan-origin hypothesis", current sampling (10/22 species; 1 revalidated?: S. occidentalis) remains insufficient to draw final conclusions on Scutiger but urges comparative phylogeographers to test alternative, geologically supported hypotheses for a true future understanding of Himalayan biogeography.

SUBMITTER: Hofmann S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5468327 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger).

Hofmann Sylvia S Stöck Matthias M Zheng Yuchi Y Ficetola Francesco G FG Li Jia-Tang JT Scheidt Ulrich U Schmidt Joachim J

Scientific reports 20170612 1

The Himalaya presents an outstanding geologically active orogen and biodiversity hotspot. However, our understanding of the historical biogeography of its fauna is far from comprehensive. Many taxa are commonly assumed to have originated from China-Indochina and dispersed westward along the Himalayan chain. Alternatively, the "Tibetan-origin hypothesis" suggests primary diversification of lineages in Paleo-Tibet, and secondary diversification along the slopes of the later uplifted Greater Himala ...[more]

PMID: 28607415

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Project description:Recent advances in the understanding of the evolution of the Asian continent challenge the long-held belief of a faunal immigration into the Himalaya. Spiny frogs of the genus Nanorana are a characteristic faunal group of the Himalaya-Tibet orogen (HTO). We examine the phylogeny of these frogs to explore alternative biogeographic scenarios for their origin in the Greater Himalaya, namely, immigration, South Tibetan origin, strict vicariance. We sequenced 150 Nanorana samples from 62 localities for three mitochondrial (1,524 bp) and three nuclear markers (2,043 bp) and complemented the data with sequence data available from GenBank. We reconstructed a gene tree, phylogenetic networks, and ancestral areas. Based on the nuDNA, we also generated a time-calibrated species tree. The results revealed two major clades (Nanorana and Quasipaa), which originated in the Lower Miocene from eastern China and subsequently spread into the HTO (Nanorana). Five well-supported subclades are found within Nanorana: from the East, Central, and Northwest Himalaya, the Tibetan Plateau, and the southeastern Plateau margin. The latter subclade represents the most basal group (subgenus Chaparana), the Plateau group (Nanorana) represents the sister clade to all species of the Greater Himalaya (Paa). We found no evidence for an east-west range expansion of Paa along the Himalaya, nor clear support for a strict vicariance model. Diversification in each of the three Himalayan subclades has probably occurred in distinct areas. Specimens from the NW Himalaya are placed basally relative to the highly diverse Central Himalayan group, while the lineage from the Tibetan Plateau is placed within a more terminal clade. Our data indicate a Tibetan origin of Himalayan Nanorana and support a previous hypothesis, which implies that a significant part of the Himalayan biodiversity results from primary diversification of the species groups in South Tibet before this part of the HTO was uplifted to its recent heights.

Dataset Information

Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger).

Publications

Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger).

Similar Datasets

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