Acoustics suggests hidden diversity in Scinax garbei (Anura: Hylidae)

Abstract

Acoustics suggests hidden diversity in Scinax garbei (Anura: Hylidae). Scinax garbei is a treefrog species thought to be widely distributed across forest habitats of the Amazon Basin, occurring in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. However, the morphological, acoustic and molecular characters of this species vary across its distribution. In view of this variation, the present study re-analyzes published advertisement calls and analyses new call data of nine populations of S. garbei from five countries, aiming to assess acoustic divergence. In addition, the territorial call of the species is described for the first time. Based on multivariate analyses of advertisement call data, there are three groups of populations with distinct calls, referred to herein as S. garbei Brazil, Northwestern, and Southwestern. Scinax garbei Northwestern is distinguished from S. garbei Southwestern by temporal call traits, whereas S. garbei Brazil differs from the other two groups based on both temporal and spectral traits. These results indicate that S. garbei may represent a complex of up to three species, thereby highlighting the need for a thorough taxonomic revision of this species.