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1. Revisiting Linnaean and Wallacean shortfalls in Mindanao Fanged Frogs: the Limnonectes magnus Complex consists of only two species

   ROBIN KURIAN ABRAHAM, MARK WILLIAM ( January 2021 , Herpetological monograph)

   We revisit the question of species diversity among Mindanao Fanged Frogs of the Limnonectes magnus complex consisting of L. magnus, L. diuatus, L. ferneri, and a previously hypothesized putative new species, inferred in the first molecular phylogenetic studies of the genus almost 2 decades ago. Using a multilocus molecular deoxyribonucleic acid sequence data set and comprehensive sampling of 161 individuals from throughout the Mindanao Pleistocene aggregate island complex landmasses (a distinct faunal region of the southern Philippines) we characterize geographically structured genetic diversity, focusing on the phylogenetic placement of individuals from each species’ type locality. We also present new morphometric data from large samples of freshly collected material from the type localities of each included species; together with examination of the name-bearing original type specimens, we conclude that an overestimation of species diversity has occurred and has been exacerbated by the indiscriminate acceptance of the hypothesis of the existence of widespread cryptic species in this group. We place L. ferneri in synonymy with L. diuatus, clarify the identification of the latter taxon with respect to L. magnus, and apply this name to the widespread, generalist, highly variable giant Fanged Frog distributed throughout the Mindanao faunal region of the southern Philippines.
2. Phylogeographic inference of Sumatran ranids bearing gastromyzophorous tadpoles with regard to the Pleistocene drainage systems of Sundaland

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14722-9  

   Arifin, Umilaela ; Smart, Utpal ; Husemann, Martin ; Hertwig, Stefan T. ; Smith, Eric N. ; Iskandar, Djoko T. ; Haas, Alexander ( July 2022 , Scientific Reports)

   Rivers are known to act as biogeographic barriers in several strictly terrestrial taxa, while possibly serving as conduits of dispersal for freshwater-tolerant or -dependent species. However, the influence of river systems on genetic diversity depends on taxa-specific life history traits as well as other geographic factors. In amphibians, several studies have demonstrated that river systems have only minor influence on their divergence. Here, we assess the role of the paleodrainage systems of the Sunda region (with a focus on the island of Sumatra) in shaping the evolutionary history of two genera of frogs (SumateranaandWijayarana) whose tadpoles are highly dependent on cascading stream habitats. Our phylogenetic results show no clear association between the genetic diversification patterns of both anurans genera and the existence of paleodrainage systems. Time-calibrated phylogenies and biogeographical models suggest that these frogs colonized Sumatra and diversified on the island before the occurrence of the Pleistocene drainage systems. Both genera demonstrate phylogenetic structuring along a north–south geographic axis, the temporal dynamics of which coincide with the geological chronology of proto Sumatran and -Javan volcanic islands. Our results also highlight the chronic underestimation of Sumatran biodiversity and call for more intense sampling efforts on the island.
3. Molecular phylogenetic estimates of evolutionary affinities and the first reports of phenotypic variation in two secretive, endemic reptiles from the Romblon Island Group, central Philippines) from Luzon Island, the Philippines

   https://doi.org/10.26757/pjsb2020b14002  

   Meneses, C.G. ( January 2020 , Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology)

   We report on the first molecular estimates of phylogenetic relationships of Brachymeles dalawangdaliri (Scincidae) and Pseudogekko isapa (Gekkonidae), and present new data on phenotypic variation in these two poorly known taxa, endemic to the Romblon Island Group of the central Philippines. Because both species were recently described on the basis of few, relatively older, museum specimens collected in the early 1970s (when preservation of genetic material was not yet standard practice in biodiversity field inventories), neither taxon has ever been included in modern molecular phylogenetic analyses. Likewise, because the original type series for each species consisted of only a few specimens, biologists have been unable to assess standard morphological variation in either taxon, or statistically assess the importance of characters contributing to their diagnoses and identification. Here we ameliorate both historical shortfalls. First, our new genetic data allowed us to perform novel molecular phylogenetic analyses aimed at elucidating the evolutionary relationships of these lineages; secondly, with population level phenotypic data, from the first statistical sample collected for either species, and including adults of both sexes. We reaffirm the distinctiveness of both named taxa as valid species, amend their diagnoses to facilitate the recognition of both, distinguish them from congeners, andmore »consider the biogeographic affinities of both lineages. Our contribution emphasizes the conservation significance of Sibuyan Island’s Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, the diverse, idiosyncratic biogeographic histories of its variably-assembled, highly endemic reptile fauna, and the critical importance of multiple, repeated, survey–resurvey studies for understanding forest community species composition and the evolutionary history of Philippine biodiversity.« less

4. A new forest frog of the genus Platymantis (Amphibia: Anura: Ceratobatrachidae: subgenus Tirahanulap) from Leyte and Samar islands, eastern Philippines

   https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4830.3.6  

   DIESMOS, ARVIN C. ; SCHEFFERS, BRETT R. ; MALLARI, NEIL ALDRIN ; SILER, CAMERON D. ; BROWN, RAFE M. ( August 2020 , Zootaxa)

   We describe a new species of frog of the genus Platymantis Günther (subgenus Tirahanulap), from the east-central regions of the Philippines. It belongs to the the previously-defined P. hazelae Group) based on morphological and bioacoustic datasets. The new species is phenotypically and ecologically most similar to members of Tirahanulap, an assemblage of small-bodied arboreal frogs inhabiting montane forests of the central and northern islands of the Philippine archipelago. The new species represents the first taxon in the Cloud Frog species known from the biogeographically unique Mindanao Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex. Particularly susceptible to local extirpation following deforestation, all known species of Tirahanulap are important indicator species for environmental and conservation assessments, making this new species not only an exceptional addition to Philippine biodiversity but also an important symbol for conservation initiatives in the region.
5. On the second (or, rather, the first) specimen of the recently described Calliophis salitan (Squamata: Elapidae), with the first report of the species from Mindanao Island, southern Philippines

   Rafe M. Brown, Marta Calvo-Revuelta ( January 2021 , Herpetology notes)

   Abstract. We report on the second known specimen of the recently described banded Asian coralsnake, Calliophis salitan, identified among the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales collections of Dr. Hipólito Fernández, made in 1886. The specimen was collected on Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines as part of the “Comisión Central de Manila,” the Spanish Crown’s effort to catalogue and showcase Philippine biodiversity for the Madrid public. We assign this important specimen to C. salitan (formerly known from a single specimen collected on Dinagat Island) based on its highly distinctive external phenotypic characteristics (scalation, body size, and inferred colour pattern). The discovery of C. salitan on Mindanao significantly extends the known geographic range of this species and partially fills an intermediate distributional hiatus – a large geographic gap in the distribution of large-bodied, long-glanded coralsnakes. This report partially resolves a biogeographic enigma surrounding the question of how a distinctive evolutionary lineage of elapid snakes – more closely related to the Calliophis bivirgatus group from Borneo and other landmasses of Sundaland than to any other Philippine elapids – could have colonized only a small island (Dinagat) in the geographic interior of the archipelago. The answer appears, most likely, that this dispersal occurredmore »over land, via the large intervening island of Mindanao. Although the exact site of collection is unknown, consideration of the collector’s itinerary suggests that it originated most likely in the vicinity of Davao City, southeastern Mindanao. Its discovery confirms that C. salitan occurs on Mindanao (or, at least, did occur on this island as recently as 133 years ago), and that locating additional populations via targeted surveys is an urgent priority for conservation of this remarkable Philippine endemic snake lineage.« less