Kaloula is a genus of microhylidfrogs found in southern and eastern Asia. They are sometimes known as the Asian narrowmouth toads.[2]
Species
The genus currently has at least 19 species.[2] Some sources also recognize Kaloula macrocephala Bourret, 1942 as a valid species,[3][4] whereas the Amphibian Species of the World treats it as a synonym of Kaloula pulchra.[2] 5 new species have been described since 2000, and there are unnamed species yet to be described.[2]
Blackburn, et al. (2013)[5] consider Kaloula species endemic to the Philippines to form a monophyletic group, containing the species Kaloula walteri, Kaloula rigida, Kaloula conjuncta, Kaloula picta, Kaloula kalingensis, and Kaloula kokacii. Kaloula likely colonized the Philippines from Southeast Asia during the Late Miocene, and then radiated into different ecotypes.[5]K. kalingensis and K. kokacii occupy niches as arboreal tree-hole frogs in northern and southern Luzon respectively, while K. rigida and K. walteri are ground frogs in northern and southern Luzon respectively. K. picta, which is a terrestrial ground frog, and K. conjuncta, which is scansorial (climbing) and prefers shrubs, have established themselves throughout the Philippine archipelago. K. picta as well as K. pulchra display the lowest internal genetic diversity, but also have widespread geographical distributions that may have likely occurred be due to human activity.
Excluding Kaloula taprobanica, the most recent common ancestor of Kaloula likely existed about 22.3 million years ago, around the Oligocene–Miocene boundary. The most recent common ancestor of the terrestrial species K. rigida and K. walteri likely lived 4.8 million years ago during the Early Pliocene, while that of the arboreal species K. kalingensis and K. kokacii likely lived 9.1 million years ago. The most recent common ancestor of K. conjuncta, which currently has four recognized subspecies, likely lived 4.4 million years ago.[5]
Blackburn, et al. (2013)[5] suggests that Kaloula taprobanica might not form a clade with the other Kaloula species, although it does clearly form a clade with Metaphrynella, Ramanella, and the rest of Kaloula.
Other studies relating to Kaloula phylogeny include van Bocxlaer et al. (2007),[1] Matsui et al. (2011),[7] and Trueb et al. (2011).[8]
^ abcdFrost, Darrel R. (2014). "Kaloula Gray, 1831". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
^"Microhylidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
^ abMo Y, Zhang W, Zhou S, Chen T, Tang H, Meng Y, Chen W (2013). "A new species of Kaloula (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) from southern Guangxi, China". Zootaxa. 3710: 165–78. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3710.2.3. PMID26106681.
^Matsui M, Hamidy A, Belabut DM, Ahmad N, Panha S, Sudin A, Khonsue W, Oh HS, Yong HS, Jiang JP, Nishikawa K (October 2011). "Systematic relationships of Oriental tiny frogs of the family Microhylidae (Amphibia, Anura) as revealed by mtDNA genealogy". Mol Phylogenet Evol. 61 (1): 167–76. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.05.015. PMID21658458.
^Trueb, L., R. Diaz, and D. C. Blackburn. 2011. Osteology and chondrocranial morphology of Gastrophryne carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae), with a review of the osteological diversity of New World microhylids. Phyllomedusa 10:99–135.
^Chan KO, Grismer LL, Brown RM (December 2014). "Reappraisal of the Javanese Bullfrog complex, Kaloula baleata (Müller, 1836) (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae), reveals a new species from Peninsular Malaysia". Zootaxa. 3900 (4): 569–80. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3900.4.7. PMID25543757.
