| Summary: | We propose to erect a new genus of terrestrial-breeding frogs of the Terrarana clade to accommodate three species from the Province La Convención, Department of Cusco, Peru previously assigned to <i>Bryophryne</i>: <i>B. flammiventris</i>, <i>B. gymnotis</i>, and <i>B. mancoinca</i>. We examined types and specimens of most species, reviewed morphological and bioacoustic characteristics, and performed molecular analyses on the largest phylogeny of <i>Bryophryne</i> species to date. We performed phylogenetic analysis of a dataset of concatenated sequences from fragments of the 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA genes, the protein-coding gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), the nuclear protein-coding gene recombination-activating protein 1 (RAG1), and the tyrosinase precursor (Tyr). The three species are immediately distinguishable from all other species of <i>Bryophryne</i> by the presence of a tympanic membrane and annulus, and by males having median subgular vocal sacs and emitting advertisement calls. Our molecular phylogeny confirms that the three species belong to a new, distinct clade, which we name <i>Qosqophryne</i>, and that they are reciprocally monophyletic with species of <i>Microkayla</i>. These two genera (<i>Qosqophryne</i> and <i>Microkayla</i>) are more closely related to species of <i>Noblella</i> and <i>Psychrophrynella</i> than to species of <i>Bryophryne</i>. Although there are no known morphological synapomorphies for either <i>Microkayla</i> or <i>Qosqophryne</i>, the high endemism of their species, and the disjoint geographic distribution of the two genera, with a gap region of ~310 km by airline where both genera are absent, provide further support for <i>Qosqophryne</i> having long diverged from <i>Microkayla</i>. The exploration of high elevation moss and leaf litter habitats in the tropical Andes will contribute to increase knowledge of the diversity and phylogenetic relationships within Terrarana.
|
|---|