The unique traits of the subgenus Unicus within Chiasmocleis Méhely, 1094 (Anura: Microhylidae)

• Published in: Zootaxa
• Main Authors: DE SÁ, RAFAEL O., TONINI, JOÃO F. RIVA, VAN HUSS, HANNAH, ZAHER, HUSSAM, HADDAD, CÉLIO F. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Mangolia Press 2019
• Subjects: Amphibia; Chiasmocleis; Unicus; apomorphies; morphology; molecular; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4646.3.8

Chiasmocleis is the most speciose genus of Neotropical microhylids. The genus consists of three monophyletic clades that were recently recognized as subgenera. Within Chiasmocleis, the subgenus Unicus has a basal position in the phylogeny and contains a single species that occurs in the North Atlantic Forest of Brazil, isolated from the ranges of other Chiasmocleis. However, the subgenus Unicus lacked a formal description and consequently so far was a nomen nudum. Herein, we provide a diagnosis (i.e., morphological and molecular apomorphies) of the subgenus Unicus de Sá, Tonini, van Huss, Long, Cuddy, Forlani, Peloso, Zaher and Haddad, 2019b; for convenience, the name has also been registered in ZooBank.