title: Phylogeography and species boundaries of Leptopelis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) from the Albertine Rift.
abstract: The genus Leptopelis occurs in multiple habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and it includes several species that have highly variable color patterns, which makes taxonomic studies challenging. In this study, we examined multiple populations of Leptopelis from the Albertine Rift (AR), a region known for its high levels of endemism and biodiversity. Currently, five species are recognized from the AR: L. anebos, L. fiziensis, L. karissimbensis, L. kivuensis, and L. mtoewaate, most of which are found in and around the Itombwe Plateau in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We sampled 90 individuals of Leptopelis from multiple localities in DRC, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. We employed concatenated gene-tree analyses, coalescent species-tree analyses, and divergence dating approaches to infer phylogenies and biogeographic patterns with a multi-locus data set consisting of two mitochondrial (16S and cyt b) and one nuclear gene (RAG1). All analyses revealed several cryptic lineages within the genus, suggesting that a revision of AR Leptopelis taxonomy is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA. Electronic address: fjportillo@miners.utep.edu.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Portillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greenbaum
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Zoologia dei Vertebrati, Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Via Calepina 14, I 38100 Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Menegon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Herpétologie, Département de Biologie, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, Lwiro, The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Chifundera
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kusamba
authors.affiliation: Institut für Integrierte Naturwissenschaften, Abteilung Biologie, AG Zoologie, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstraße 1, 56070 Koblenz, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maximilian Dehling
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000145:classification*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D017753:Ecosystem; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Amphibians; Biodiversity; Itombwe Plateau; Montane Forest; Speciation