Morphological analyses of frogs of the Leptodactylus latrans complex (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae) from selected localities in South America

摘要

Two species of the Leptodactylus latrans complex in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay (currently considered as Leptodactylus chaquensis and Leptodactylus latrans) are readily identifiable based on external morphological features. In contrast, analyses of external morphological features have not been successful in determining species limits of the complex in Brasil, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The purpose of this study is to assess whether variation in a set of external morphological features is of value in determining species limits for a set of localities distributed throughout the range of the L. latrans complex. The morphological data as analyzed in this study provide some suggestions for delineating species limits, but overall, the data as analyzed are not sufficient to determine robust species limits within the L. latrans species complex.