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Abstract:
Poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are famous for their aposematic species, having a combination of diverse color patterns and defensive skin toxins, yet most species in this family are inconspicuous (cryptic) and considered non-aposematic. Epipedobates is among the youngest genus-level clades of Dendrobatidae that includes both aposematic and cryptic species. Using mitochondrial and nuclear markers, we demonstrate deep genetic divergences among cryptic species of Epipedobates but relatively shallow genetic divergences among conspicuous species. Our phylogenetic analysis includes broad geographic sampling of the cryptic lineages typically identified as E. boulengeri and E. espinosai, which reveals two putative new species, one in west-central Colombia (E. sp. 1) and the other in north-central Ecuador (E. aff. espinosai). We conclude that E. darwinwallacei is a junior subjective synonym of E. espinosai. We also clarify the geographic distributions of cryptic Epipedobates species including the widespread E. boulengeri. We provide a qualitative assessment of the phenotypic diversity in each nominal species, with a focus on the color and pattern of cryptic species. We conclude that Epipedobates contains eight known valid species, six of which are cryptic. A relaxed molecular clock analysis suggests that the most recent common ancestor of Epipedobates is ~11.1 million years old, which nearly doubles previous estimates. Last, genetic information points to a center of species diversity in the Chocó at the southwestern border of Colombia with Ecuador.
