Molecular data reveal multiple lineages of Scinax nebulosus (Spix, 1824) (Anura: Hylidae) with Plio-Pleistocene diversification in different Brazilian regions

Abstract

Abstract To understand the organism’s history, we can start assessing the complexity of the biome where they occur. In this study, we used a region of the mitochondrial genome, the rRNA 16S, to evaluate the genetic differentiation in Scinax nebulosus along with its geographical range highlighting important Brazilian biomes as Restinga, Cerrado, Amazon, and Atlantic Forest. Geographically structured genetic divergence was observed within the species S. nebulosus. The values of the fixation index (Фst) and the pairwise Fst index were high and significant regarding this structuring. Besides, the haplotype network corroborates these results with the haplotypes arrangement found by separating the S. nebulosus populations in two major groups: North and Northeast. The lineage delimitation analyses indicate the occurrence of several lineages with divergence mainly between the samples from the Northeast group. Thus, we can suggest that S. nebulosus may present itself as a group of cryptic species due to the genetic characteristics found. The existence of a mosaic of heterogeneous habitats may explain the genetic divergence found, which justifies the existence of cryptic species in this group. However, this hypothesis needs more detail in molecular studies, including large sample sizes and other population and demographic analyses.

Keywords

• Anurans
• Biomes
• Molecular biology
• Population structuring