Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30917162›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Morphological and ecological convergence at the lower size limit for vertebrates highlighted by five new miniaturised microhylid frog species from three different Madagascan genera.

Mark D Scherz, Carl R Hutter, Andolalao Rakotoarison, Jana C Riemann, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Serge H Ndriantsoa, Julian Glos, Sam Hyde Roberts, Angelica Crottini, Miguel Vences and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
7.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.

Mark D ScherzSektion Herpetologie, Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), München, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4613-7761
Carl R HutterBiodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America.
Andolalao RakotoarisonDivision of Evolutionary Biology, Zoologisches Institut, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
Jana C RiemannInstitute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Mark-Oliver RödelMuseum für Naturkunde-Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany.
Serge H NdriantsoaMention Zoologie et Biodiversité Animale, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Julian GlosInstitute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Sam Hyde RobertsSEED Madagascar, London, United Kingdom.
Angelica CrottiniCIBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-8505-3050
Miguel VencesDivision of Evolutionary Biology, Zoologisches Institut, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
Frank GlawSektion Herpetologie, Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), München, Germany.
Bavarian State Collection of Zoology · DEUniversität Hamburg · DEUniversity of Antananarivo · MGMuseum für Naturkunde · DEOxford Brookes University · GBTechnische Universität Braunschweig · DEUniversidade do Porto · PTUniversity of Kansas · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Miniaturised frogs form a fascinating but poorly understood amphibian ecomorph and have been exceptionally prone to taxonomic underestimation. The subfamily Cophylinae (family Microhylidae), endemic to Madagascar, has a particularly large diversity of miniaturised species which have historically been attributed to the single genus Stumpffia largely based on their small size. Recent phylogenetic work has revealed that several independent lineages of cophyline microhylids evolved towards highly miniaturised body sizes, achieving adult snout-vent lengths under 16 mm. Here, we describe five new species belonging to three clades that independently miniaturised and that are all genetically highly divergent from their relatives: (i) a new genus (Mini gen. nov.) with three new species from southern Madagascar, (ii) one species of Rhombophryne, and (iii) one species of Anodonthyla. Mini mum sp. nov. from Manombo in eastern Madagascar is one of the smallest frogs in the world, reaching an adult body size of 9.7 mm in males and 11.3 mm in females. Mini scule sp. nov. from Sainte Luce in southeastern Madagascar is slightly larger and has maxillary teeth. Mini ature sp. nov. from Andohahela in southeast Madagascar is larger than its congeners but is similar in build. Rhombophryne proportionalis sp. nov. from Tsaratanana in northern Madagascar is unique among Madagascar's miniaturised frogs in being a proportional dwarf, exhibiting far less advanced signs of paedomorphism than other species of similar size. Anodonthyla eximia sp. nov. from Ranomafana in eastern Madagascar is distinctly smaller than any of its congeners and is secondarily terrestrial, providing evidence that miniaturisation and terrestriality may be evolutionarily linked. The evolution of body size in Madagascar's microhylids has been more dynamic than previously understood, and future studies will hopefully shed light on the interplay between ecology and evolution of these remarkably diverse frogs.

Indexed as

Body SizeEcologyOsteologyAnimal DistributionAnimalsAnuraFemaleMadagascarMaleMiniaturizationPhylogeny

Identifiers

PMID30917162
PMCPMC6436692
OpenAlexW2923404453

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.