Call a spade a spade: taxonomy and distribution of Pelobates, with description of a new Balkan endemic

Christophe Dufresnes; Ilias Strachinis; Elias Tzoras; Spartak N Litvinchuk; Mathieu Denoël

doi:10.3897/zookeys.859.33634

Call a spade a spade: taxonomy and distribution of Pelobates, with description of a new Balkan endemic

Zookeys. 2019 Jul 2:859:131-158. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.859.33634. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Christophe Dufresnes^{1

2

3}, Ilias Strachinis⁴, Elias Tzoras⁵, Spartak N Litvinchuk^{6

7}, Mathieu Denoël⁸

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Conservation Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
² Hintermann & Weber SA, Avenue des Alpes 25, 1820 Montreux, Switzerland.
³ Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom.
⁴ School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
⁵ 26442 Patra, Achaia, Greece.
⁶ Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky pr. 4, St. 194064 Petersburg, Russia.
⁷ Department of Zoology and Physiology, Dagestan State University, Gadzhiyev str. 43-a, 336700 Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia.
⁸ Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology, Behavioural Biology Group, Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch (FOCUS), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.

Abstract

The genomic era contributes to update the taxonomy of many debated terrestrial vertebrates. In an accompanying work, we provided a comprehensive molecular assessment of spadefoot toads (Pelobates) using genomic data. Our results call for taxonomic updates in this group. First, nuclear phylogenomics confirmed the species-level divergence between the Iberian P.cultripes and its Moroccan relative P.varaldii. Second, we inferred that P.fuscus and P.vespertinus, considered subspecies until recently, feature partial reproductive isolation and thus deserve a specific level. Third, we evidenced cryptic speciation and diversification among deeply diverged lineages collectively known as Pelobatessyriacus. Populations from the Near East correspond to the Eastern spadefoot toad P.syriacus sensu stricto, which is represented by two subspecies, one in the Levant (P.s.syriacus) and the other in the rest of the range (P.s.boettgeri). Populations from southeastern Europe correspond to the Balkan spadefoot toad, P.balcanicus. Based on genetic evidence, this species is also polytypic: the nominal P.b.balcanicus inhabits the Balkan Peninsula; a new subspecies P.b.chloeae ssp. nov. appears endemic to the Peloponnese. In this paper, we provide an updated overview of the taxonomy and distribution of all extant Pelobates taxa and describe P.b.chloeae ssp. nov.

Keywords: Pelobates balcanicus; Pelobates balcanicus chloeae; Pelobates vespertinus; Pelobatidae; Amphibian; Palearctic; phylogenomics; phylogeography; spadefoot toad.