v15i1.398
Volume 15 | Number 1 | 2026
Major Article
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v15i1.398
Submitted date: 19 November 2025
Accepted date: 9 March 2026
Published date: 26 April 2026
Pp. 26–37, Pls. 8–11.
TWO DISTINCT MORPHOTYPES OF Colleeneremia (ANURA: PELODRYADIDAE) FROM THE TANIMBAR ISLANDS, INDONESIA: RECOGNITION OF ONE AS A NEW SPECIES
Nabilah F. Khairunnisa, Awal Riyanto, A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe, Syahfitri Anita, Achmad Farajallah & Amir Hamidy*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hamidyamir@gmail.com
Abstract
Colleeneremia capitula (Tyler, 1968) is an insular pelodryadid endemic to the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, originally described from a single female specimen and lacking a population-level assessment of morphological variation. We examined 44 specimens (29 males, 15 females) from Lorulun Village, Yamdena Island, integrating detailed morphometrics and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence data. Two sympatric and consistently diagnosable morphotypes were identified, differing in iris coloration (golden to copper-brown vs. uniform black), dorsal pattern, body size, and multiple size-corrected morphometric characters. Univariate analyses revealed significant differentiation in 28 of 31 measured traits, and principal component analysis recovered two largely discrete clusters in morphospace. Phylogenetic analyses of a 432 bp fragment of 16S rRNA recovered both lineages as a well-supported clade within Colleeneremia, with shallow but structured mitochondrial divergence (0.3–1.4%) between morphotypes. The combination of sympatric occurrence, consistent phenotypic diagnosability, and concordant mitochondrial structuring supports recognition of the black-iris morphotype as a distinct species, described here as a new species. This study reveals previously unrecognized diversity within the Tanimbar pelodryadids and underscores the potential for rapid insular divergence in Wallacean amphibians.
Section Editor: Enrique La Marca
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v15i1.398
Submitted date: 19 November 2025
Accepted date: 9 March 2026
Published date: 26 April 2026
Pp. 26–37, Pls. 8–11.
TWO DISTINCT MORPHOTYPES OF Colleeneremia (ANURA: PELODRYADIDAE) FROM THE TANIMBAR ISLANDS, INDONESIA: RECOGNITION OF ONE AS A NEW SPECIES
Nabilah F. Khairunnisa, Awal Riyanto, A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe, Syahfitri Anita, Achmad Farajallah & Amir Hamidy*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hamidyamir@gmail.com
Abstract
Colleeneremia capitula (Tyler, 1968) is an insular pelodryadid endemic to the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, originally described from a single female specimen and lacking a population-level assessment of morphological variation. We examined 44 specimens (29 males, 15 females) from Lorulun Village, Yamdena Island, integrating detailed morphometrics and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence data. Two sympatric and consistently diagnosable morphotypes were identified, differing in iris coloration (golden to copper-brown vs. uniform black), dorsal pattern, body size, and multiple size-corrected morphometric characters. Univariate analyses revealed significant differentiation in 28 of 31 measured traits, and principal component analysis recovered two largely discrete clusters in morphospace. Phylogenetic analyses of a 432 bp fragment of 16S rRNA recovered both lineages as a well-supported clade within Colleeneremia, with shallow but structured mitochondrial divergence (0.3–1.4%) between morphotypes. The combination of sympatric occurrence, consistent phenotypic diagnosability, and concordant mitochondrial structuring supports recognition of the black-iris morphotype as a distinct species, described here as a new species. This study reveals previously unrecognized diversity within the Tanimbar pelodryadids and underscores the potential for rapid insular divergence in Wallacean amphibians.
Section Editor: Enrique La Marca
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
- List of Articles & Contents