Phylogeny of Asian Bufonids inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences (Anura: Amphibia): implication for the speciation of East Asian Bufonids

Abstract

Many bufonidae species distributed in Asia are inhabited in a variety of environments. However, there are few studies focusing on the speciation of Asia Bufonidae. In this study, we reconstruct the phylogeny tree of Asia Bufonidae with timescale in BEAST based on a multiple sequence alignment of 12S gene and 16S gene sequences from 13 Bufonidae species and whole mtDNA from five Bufonidae species. The results show that the bufonids split into two major clades. In general, there are two lineages mainly distributed on different sides of the Himalayas. According to the divergence time and distribution of the two lineages, we imply that the differentiation of Bufonidea may be closely linked to the uplift of QTP and consequent monsoon climate.

Keywords:

• Asian Bufonids
• mitochondrial genome
• phylogenetic analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank Hui Wang, Xing Kang, and Zhonglou Sun for their assistance in this study.

Declaration of interest

This project was partially supported by the Foundation for Graduate Student Academic Innovation Research Project of Anhui University (yqh100134). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.