| dc.description.abstract | The cross frogs, genus Oreophryne Boettger, 1895 are most diverse in the
mainland of New Guinea and adjacent islands, to the Wallacea region in the
Moluccas, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, even marginally to the Oriental
region in Bali and to the southern Philippine Islands. In Sulawesi, this taxon consists
of three species but has rarely been reported since their original descriptions and
remained unstudied in both taxonomical work and molecular study.
This research aims to evaluate the taxonomic status of the cross frogs in
Sulawesi based on morphology and estimate the phylogenetic using the 16S rRNA
gene. The phylogenetic tree was reconstructed under Maximum Likelihood (ML)
and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. We used the specimens of Sulawesian
Oreophryne which were stored at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB). A
total of about 19 morphological characters were measured by a digital caliper and
ocular micrometer to the nearest 0.01 mm.
The phylogenetic tree shows that the three nominal species of Oreophryne
from Sulawesi are clearly clustered. Correspondingly, the phylogenetic analysis
supports the recognition of a new taxon, Oreophryne sp. However, the phylogenetic
relationships between Oreophryne within Wallacea remain unresolved.
Consequently, further systematic analysis along with additional sequences from the
type locality is necessary to clarify the interspecific relationship among this region.
We examined the morphology of 50 voucher specimens of Sulawesian
Oreophryne. The validity of O. celebensis, O. variabilis, and O. zimmeri was
confirmed in this study, but still the latter remains to be established. The three
nominal species examined here were not collected from the type locality, so
additional specimens, either in the type locality, new locations, or in other areas on
this island are needed to evaluate the taxonomic status of these species deeply.
Moreover, the unnamed species from the highland of the Mekongga mountains
differ morphologically and genetically from all previously described Sulawesian
Oreophryne. This distinct species will increase the number of cross frogs in
Sulawesi to four species, all of which are endemic. | id |
