Genetics, Morphology, Advertisement Calls, and Historical Records Distinguish Six New Polyploid Species of African Clawed Frog (Xenopus, Pipidae) from West and Central Africa

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142823
• Publication Date: 2015-12-16T18:57:02Z
• Authors: Ben J. Evans; Timothy F. Carter; Eli Greenbaum; Václav Gvoždík; Darcy B. Kelley; Patrick J. McLaug...; Olivier S. G. Pau...; Daniel M. Portik; Edward L. Stanley; Richard C. Tinsley; Martha L. Tobias; David C. Blackburn
• Keywords: Subgenus; Polyploid; Species complex; African clawed frog

African clawed frogs, genus Xenopus, are extraordinary among vertebrates in the diversity of their polyploid species and high number independent polyploidization events that occurred during diversification. Here we update current understanding evolutionary history this group describe six new from west central sub-Saharan Africa, including four tetraploids two dodecaploids. We provide information on molecular variation, morphology, karyotypes, vocalizations, estimated geographic ranges, which support distinctiveness these species. resurrect Xenopus calcaratus synonymy tropicalis refer populations Bioko Island coastal Cameroon (near Mt. Cameroon) to To facilitate comparisons species, also comments type specimens, distributions X. epitropicalis, tropicalis, fraseri. This includes significantly restricted application names fraseri first argue is known definitively only specimens possibly one other specimen. Inferring histories allows refinement groups within leads our recognition subgenera (Xenopus Silurana) three subgenus (amieti, laevis, muelleri groups).