title: A likelihood inference of historical biogeography in the world's most diverse terrestrial vertebrate genus: diversification of direct-developing frogs (Craugastoridae: Pristimantis) across the Neotropics.
abstract: The geology of the northern Andean region has driven the evolutionary history of Neotropical fauna through the creation of barriers and connections that have resulted in speciation and dispersal events, respectively. One of the most conspicuous groups of anuran fauna in the Andes and surrounding areas is the direct-developing species of the genus Pristimantis. We investigated the molecular phylogenetic placement of 12 species from the montane Andes of Colombia in a broader geographical context with a new genus-level phylogeny in order to identify the role of Andean orogeny over the last 40million years and the effect of elevational differences in diversification of Pristimantis. We examined the biogeographic history of the genus using ancestral range reconstruction by biogeographic regions and elevational ranges. We recognized the middle elevational band (between 1000 and 3000m) in the Northwestern Andes region of Colombia and Ecuador as a focal point for the origin and radiation of Pristimantis species. Additionally, we found several Andean migrations toward new habitats in Central Andes and Merida Andes for some species groups. We suggest that the paleogeological changes in the Northwestern Andes were the main promoter of speciation in Pristimantis, and may have served as a corridor for the dispersion of lowland species.
authors: Grupo de estudios en genética, ecología molecular y fisiología animal, Universidad del Valle, 760032 Cali, Colombia; Grupo de investigación en ecología y conservación neotropical, Samanea Foundation, 760046 Cali, Colombia; Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, 6713 Cali, Colombia. Electronic address: am.mendozah@gmail.com.
authors: Ángela María
authors: ÁM
authors: Mendoza
authors: Grupo de estudios en genética, ecología molecular y fisiología animal, Universidad del Valle, 760032 Cali, Colombia; Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras 00931-3360, Puerto Rico.
authors: Oscar E
authors: OE
authors: Ospina
authors: Grupo de estudios en genética, ecología molecular y fisiología animal, Universidad del Valle, 760032 Cali, Colombia; Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, 760032 Cali, Colombia.
authors: Heiber
authors: H
authors: Cárdenas-Henao
authors: Grupo de estudios en genética, ecología molecular y fisiología animal, Universidad del Valle, 760032 Cali, Colombia; Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, Private Bag 11-222, New Zealand.
authors: Juan C
authors: JC
authors: García-R
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000145:classification*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003105:Colombia; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Ancestral range reconstruction; Andes; Biogeography; Diversification; Terrarana