A multi-analytical approach into revealing the cryptic diversity within the Arthroleptis genus. The species of focus here is the Arthroleptis francei where a molecular analysis reveals new species atop the inselbergs of Mozambique. Species distribution modelling, morphological descriptions, distribution networks and vocal recordings have all been included in this Masters project.

1. Introduc)on
• Vicariance separa)on leading to the
specia.on of Arthrolep)s francei in eastern
Africa: Malawi and Mozambique.
• Forests are few and fragmented, exis.ng
atop mountains, also known as “Sky
Islands” where species like the A. francei
are endemic.
• Arthrolep)s francei are currently listed as
Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN RedList.
• Fragmenta)on has led to interspecies
divergence.
Materials and methods
Hypothesis
To assess the A. francei species complex and
reveal cryp)c species within.
Climate and land use changes influence the
phylogeographical distribu.ons of Arthrolep)s
candidate species.
Conclusions
The barcoding analysis indicates there being six
to seven candidate species.
Three separate allopatric specia.on events (Figure 7):
1)Mount Lico and Mount Chiperone;
2)Mount Inago, Mount Socone and Mount
Namuli; and
3)Mount Mulanje.
Individuals on Mount Mabu indicate poten.al
sympatric specia.on.
Recent popula.ons are secluded to forest
outcrops at high eleva.ons due to the forests
decreasing through anthropogenic pressures.
IUCN RedList revision up lis.ng to Endangered.
Literature cited
IUCN. (2018). IUCN. Retrieved
August 17, 2018, from
www.iucnredlist.org
Lanfear, R., CalcoW, B., Ho, S. Y., &
Guindon, S. (2012).
Par..onFinder: combined
selec.on of par..oning
schemes and subs.tu.on
models for phylogene.c
analyses. Molecular biology
and evolu.on, 29(6), 1695-
1701.
Ronquist, F., & Huelsenbeck, J. P.
(2003). MRBAYES 3: Bayesian
phylogene.c inference under
mixed models. Bioinforma)cs,
19, 1572–1574.
Further informa)on
Further sta.s.cal analysis, and a geological history .meline is needed for a clearer view into the divergence.
Limited informa.on exists on the behavioral ecology of A. francei, therefore more research is needed in this area.
Explora.on of more mountains will increase the sample size we currently have, for a beWer gene.c understanding.
Only a frac.on of the know distribu.on has been explored therefore, further explora.on will aid in an in-depth knowledge of the uncertain.es.
Elucidating cryptic diversity in East African frogs: the case
of Arthroleptis francei Loveridge, 1953.
Natasha Woesta, Simon Loaderb, Gabriela BiGencourt-Silvac, Robert Jehled
a,dThe University of Salford, Peel Building, The Crescent, Salford, M5 4WT; b,cNatural History Museum, London
email: n.l.woest@edu.salford.ac.uk
Results
16S Gene
• Posterior probabili.es with a maximum value of 100% and a branch support above 95% results in divergence are
regarded as new species. This probability within the monophyly of A. francei results in revealing new cryp)c species.
• Haplotype model (Figure 3) support the the phylogene.c analysis in Figure 2, with the 16S median-joining showing
numerous muta.ons separa.ng the clades.
• Mount Mabu dis.nc.vely has a divergence of A. francei, Mount Namuli, Mulanje and Mabu all share similar genes.
• Individuals were found at an eleva)on of 716m in 1953, however, due to deforesta.on, they are now located between
844m - 1892m.
Malaw: Mount Mulanje
Mozambique: Mabu, Inago, Lico
Ribáue, Socone, Chiperone
n = 52
Mitochondrial genes: 12S and 16S
Nuclear gene: RAG1
Par..ons:
12S and 16S: GTR+I+G
RAG1: HKY+G
Tree: Bayesian Interface (BI)
: Species Delimita.on
Haplotype Median
Joining Network
Arthrolep)s francei
Arthrolep)s genus distribu.on
Africa
Type locality
SVL
TL
FL
DD3
TDLFOL
THL
IOD
IND
ED
TL
LHU
END
BL
HL
H
Wx
IMT
BI and the species distribu.on model are in agreeance confirming:
- Two separate candidate species on Mount Mabu
- New candidate species on Mount Namuli and Socone
- New candidate species on Mount Lico and Mount Chiperone
Females were larger in size with band length the same propor.on however,
the males TDL were 7% larger than females.
Coloura)on differs between all individuals (Figure 5).
First ever recording and analysis of a males call from Mount Inago (Figure 6). Mulanje
Mabu
MALAWI
MOZAMBIQUE
Namuli
Inago
Socone
Lico
Chiperone
Zomba
Ribáuè
Morphometric measurements Call recording
Figure 1. Distribu.on of Arthrolep.dae in Africa. Inset - Arthrolep)s francei distribu)on Figure 2. 16S Phylogene.c analysis with eleva.on traits where individuals were collected. Figure 3. 16S Hapotype model Figure 4. Species Delimita.on for the 16S gene Figure 5. Colour varia.on on individuals from
Mount Inago
Figure 6. Call recording of a male from Mount Inago Figure 7. Species distribu.on modelling for Arthrolep)s francei.