Telmatobius, Wiegmann, 1834

Sáez, Paola A., Fibla, Pablo, Correa, Claudio, Sallaberry, Michel, Salinas, Hugo, Veloso, Alberto, Mella, Jorge, Iturra, Patricia & Méndez, Marco A., 2014, A new endemic lineage of the Andean frog genus Telmatobius (Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the western slopes of the central Andes, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171 (4), pp. 769-782 : 779

AMONGST TELMATOBIUS

The divergence time estimated for the separation of the T. verrucosus group and the other species of Telmatobius included in this study is congruent with that of De la Riva et al. (2010), who proposed an ancient divergence between these groups and supported the forest origin of the Altiplano species proposed by Duellman (1979), Cei (1986), and Lynch (1986). Our results also show that the species of the T. marmoratus and T. hintoni Altiplano groups would have originat- ed during the Pleistocene, corroborating the suggestion of De la Riva et al. (2010). The species of the T. zapahuirensis group from the western slopes showed a temporal origin similar to the Altiplano groups, which would indicate that the differentiation processes of Telmatobius in the region occurred more or less simultaneously. Although the calibration method used in this study should be considered with caution for the estimation of divergence times amongst species, studies performed in the same area as our study on other taxa have also shown a Pleistocene origin of the species that inhabit the Altiplano. This is the case for snails of the genera Heleobia (0.8−0.28 Mya; Kroll et al., 2012) and Biomphalaria (0.84−0.28 Mya; Collado et al., 2011), and fishes of the genus Orestias (0.88−0.37 Mya; Lüssen, Falk & Villwok, 2003; Vila et al., 2013). Thus, although these taxa show different biogeographical histories to Telmatobius , they suggest that species of the Altiplano would have diversified at about the same time.

Vicariance has been proposed as the main process that generated the diversification of the fauna in the Altiplano region (e.g. Cei, 1986; Northcote, 2000; Lüssen et al., 2003; Vila et al., 2010, 2013; Collado et al., 2011), probably stimulated by processes such as the elevation of the central Andes ( Gregory-Wodzicki, 2000), climatic cycles in the last 0.9 Myr ( Potts & Behrensmeyer, 1992), intense volcanic activity ( Babeyko et al., 2002; Schmitt et al., 2002), and multiple cycles of palaeolakes that are thought to have occurred between 1.6 Mya (Mataro formation; Lavenú, 1995) and 13−11 Kya (formation of Coipasa; Placzek, Quade & Patchett, 2011). Comparing our results in Telmatobius with codistributed populations of fishes of the genus Orestias we observed a similar topological pattern ( Vila et al., 2013), suggesting that a similar vicariant speciation pattern also occurred in Telmatobius .

At a global level, freshwater species are considered to be amongst the most threatened ( Ricciardi & Rasmussen, 1999; Saunders, Meeuwig & Vincent, 2002). One of the main risks for species that inhabit these ecosystems in Chile is the decrease in the levels of water and the loss of aquatic systems, which is intensified by the growing pressure exerted on these systems by mining activities ( Keller & Soto, 1998; Vila, 2006; Vila et al., 2007; Morales, Vila & Poulin, 2011). In spite of this imminent threat, the conservation status of the majority of the Chilean species of Telmatobius has not been evaluated, placing them in the category of ‘Data Deficient’ because of the lack of information on their distribution and abundance of their populations. This study has revealed that the distribution of the Chilean species is greater than previously known. However, in the Altiplano and western Chilean slopes there are still unexplored areas where undescribed Telmatobius populations may exist. Therefore, further efforts are required for a better understanding of the diversity and evolution of these amphibians in the Andes.