The first molecular analysis of the Lanza’s Frog (Lanzarana largeni) from the Horn of Africa supports its unique position in the family Ptychadenidae
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Lanzarana largeni is known from only eleven localities in northeastern and southern Somalia. This species spends most of its life hidden underground and only comes to the surface during periods of sufficient rainfall. The author of the original description placed it in the genus Hildebrandtia, but not without a suspicion that it may in fact represent a different genus [H. (?) largeni]. A later study of the external morphology and osteological characters focused on African "ranid" frogs confirmed the distinctness of this species from the other representatives of the genus Hildebrandtia in several characters. Based on these results, H. (?) largeni was assigned to a separate monotypic genus Lanzarana, with the assumption that it is closely related to Hildebrandtia. This classification has not yet been verified using molecular phylogenetic methods as most of the available material dates to the 1970s which complicates the use of conventional molecular methods. However, recent discovery of this species in eastern Somaliland has allowed its first molecular phylogenetic analysis. The results confirm the affiliation of the genus Lanzarana to the family Ptychadenidae, but not as a sister lineage to the genus Hildebrandtia, but as a sister lineage to the species-rich genus Ptychadena, from which Lanzarana diverged about 32 Mya in the early Oligocene. We also report the first record of Lanzarana in neighbouring Ethiopia, where its occurrence has so far only been assumed, and a previously unnoticed observation at a locality west of the Juba River in southern Somalia. These new localities extend the known range of this species significantly to the west and suggest the possible occurrence of this species in northeastern Kenya, which is supported by our results of the species distribution modelling. |
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