We report the sequencing and compare the mitochondrial genomes of the South American ground frogs Eupsophus vertebralis and E. emiliopugini and reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among Eupsophus species. These genomes consist of 16,156 and 16,711 bp in length, respectively and contain 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), and partial non-coding D-loop region. Both genomes share 94.5% identity with 879 variable sites. A phylogenetic analysis with other available mitogenomes recovered both species as the sister clade of Alsodes gargola. Sequences from D-loop, CO1, and Cyt b, amplified and sequenced with primers developed from the mitochondrial genomes, allowed us to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among Eupsophus species. Since our report represents the first mitogenomes for the genus Eupsophus, we expect these data will be valuable for further studies on conservation genetics and on the evolution of Patagonian amphibians.
Keywords: Eupsophus; anurans; conservation; mitochondrial genome.