Mahmudul Hasan, Mohammed Mafizul Islam, Md. Mukhlesur Rahman Khan, Takeshi Igawa, Mohammad Shafiqul Alam, Hon Tjong Djong, Nia Kurniawan, Hareesh Joshy, Yong Hoi Sen, Daicus M. Belabut, Atsushi Kurabayashi, Mitsuru Kuramoto, Masayuki Sumida
To elucidate the genetic divergences of several Asian frog taxa, the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene (16S) sequences of 81 populations across 6 Asian countries were analyzed. In total, 109 haplotypes were found, and the concept of a 3% difference in 16S sequence corresponding to species threshold was applied to define candidate amphibian species, for which corroborating evidence, such as morphology, ecological characteristics, and/or nuclear gene data, is required. Polypedates leucomystax, Hylarana chalconota, and Hylarana sp. from Chantaburi, Maelippet Siberut, and Langkawi Island, respectively, correspond to 3 candidate species and H. erythraea from Malaysia/Thailand represents a possible candidate species. Hylarana cf. nicobariensis from Muara Siberut, Amolops larutensis from Gombak, and Microhyla okinavensis from Ishigaki Island showed divergences from the topotypic specimen, all suggesting a relevant candidate species. Microhyla heymonsi from Malaysia and M. ornata from 2 regions (Mudigere and Talapu) in India did not fit any congeneric species based on available 16S data, suggesting 3 possible candidate species in total. Two lineages of Duttaphrynus melanostictus from Malaysia denote 2 possible candidate species. Consequently, this study indicates the occurrence of 6 candidate and 6 possible candidate species, and argues that the generic allocation of the Fejervarya-Minervarya-Zakerana complex needs to be studied in detail. © TÜBITAK.
Institute for Amphibian Biology, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Japan; Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh; Department of Genetics and Fish Breeding, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur 1706, Bangladesh; Department of Biology, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia; Department of Biology, Brawijawa University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Laboratory of Applied Biology, St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India; Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Munakata, Fukuoka, 3-6-15 Hikarigaoka, Japan
