Mitochondrial characteristics of Pseudohynobius flavomaculatus a protected salamander in China, and biogeographical implications for the family Hynobiidae (Amphibia, Caudata)

By

Zhang, Yu
Wang, Meng.
Cheng, Ruli
Luo, Yang
Li, Yingwen
Liu, Zhihao
Chen, Qiliang
Shen, Yanjun

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

98

Pages

263--274

Subjects

Biogeography , divergence time , mitochondrial genome , molecular phylogenetics

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.98.66578

 

Abstract

Pseudohynobius flavomaculatus a provincially-protected salamander species, inhabits mountainous areas of Chongqing and surrounding provinces in China. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of P. flavomaculatus was sequenced and analyzed. The mitogenome is 16,401 bp in length and consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a control region. We performed a novel phylogenetic analysis, which demonstrated a sister relationship between P. flavomaculatus and P. jinfo. The 95% confidence interval around our new divergence date estimate suggest that Hynobiidae originated at 101.62–119.84 (mean=110.87) Ma. Species within Hynobiidae diverged successively in the Cenozoic era, and hynobiid speciation coincides primarily with geologic events. Our biogeographical inference demonstrates that nearly all early hynobiids divergences correspond to geological estimates of orogeny, which may have contributed to the notably high dN/dS ratio in this clade. We conclude that orogeny is likely a primary, dynamic factor, which may have repeatedly initiated the process of speciation in the family Hynobiidae.