Validity and systematic position of Rana altaica (Rana: ranidae): results of a phylogenetic analysis.

In order to evaluate the phylogenetic position and validity of Rana altaica, we investigated the phylogeny of brown frogs in Eurasia by Bayesian Inference and Maximum Parsimony analyses of a fragment from the mitochondrial DNA gene Cytochrome b. Both analyses resolved R. altaica as nesting deeply within R. arvalis. Most samples of the nominal R. altaica from the Altai region and specimens from Central Siberia shared a haplotype with R. arvalis based on the network analysis. The matrilineal relationships suggested that R. altaica should be considered as a junior synonym of R. arvalis. Furthermore, our study suggested that the species group division of Chinese brown frogs should be re-evaluated within a phylogenetic context.