Marine introgressions and Andean uplift have driven diversification in neotropical Monkey tree frogs (Anura, Phyllomedusinae)

The species richness in the Neotropics has been linked to environmental heterogeneity and a complex geological history. We evaluated which biogeographic processes were associated with the diversification of Monkey tree frogs, an endemic clade from the Neotropics. We tested two competing hypotheses: the diversification of Phyllomedusinae occurred either in a “south-north” or a “north-south” direction in the Neotropics. We also hypothesized that marine introgressions and Andean uplift had a crucial role in promoting their diversification. We used 13 molecular markers in a Bayesian analysis to infer phylogenetic relationships among 57 species of Phyllomedusinae and to estimate their divergence times. We estimated ancestral ranges based on 12 biogeographic units considering the landscape modifications of the Neotropical region. We found that the Phyllomedusinae hypothetical ancestor range was probably widespread throughout South America, from Western Amazon to Southern Atlantic Forest, at 29.5 Mya. The Phyllomedusines’ ancestor must have initially diverged through vicariance, generally followed by jump-dispersals and sympatric speciation. Dispersal among areas occurred mostly from Western Amazonia towards Northern Andes and the South American diagonal of dry landscapes, a divergent pattern from both "south-north" and "north-south" diversification hypotheses. Our results revealed a complex diversification process of Monkey tree frogs, occurring simultaneously with the orogeny of Northern Andes and the South American marine introgressions in the last 30 million years.