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| Adenomus is monophyletic and that it comprises only two species: A. kelaartii and A. kandianus, with A. dasi being a junior synonym of the latter
Meegaskumbura, et al. 2015 | DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3911.2.6
HalcyonsNest.blogspot.com |
ABSTRACT
The bufonid genus Adenomus, an endemic of the montane and lowland rainforests of central and south-western Sri Lanka, has been considered to comprise of three species, viz. A. kelaartii, A. dasi and A. kandianus, the last of which has been recently highlighted as " the world's rarest toad " . We conducted a survey across the known range of Adenomus and used multiple criteria to delineate species boundaries within the genus. These include: a molecular phylogeny based on a 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragment; an examination of the external morphology of adults and larvae, and the skeletal morphol-ogy of adults; a bioacoustic analysis; and ecological niche modelling. We show that Adenomus is monophyletic and that it comprises only two species: A. kelaartii and A. kandianus, with A. dasi being a junior synonym of the latter. For the two valid species of Adenomus, we provide detailed osteological descriptions; clarify the distribution patterns; and provide genetic data to facilitate their scientific conservation management.
Keywords: Adenomus dasi new synonym, barcoding, bioacoustics, integrative taxonomy, niche modeling, osteology, sucker disc, tadpole
Madhava Meegaskumbura, Gayani Senevirathne, Nayana Wijayathilaka, Beneeta Jayawardena, Champika Bandara, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi and Rohan Pethiyagoda. 2015. The Sri Lankan Torrent Toads (Bufonidae: Adenominae: Adenomus): Species Boundaries assessed using Multiple Criteria. Zootaxa. 3911(2):245-261. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3911.2.6
