Journal Article

Speciation and historical invasions of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

Hofmann, Sylvia, Khatiwada, Janak R., Bala Gautam, Kumudani, Dufresnes, Christophe, Jiang, Jianping, Arkhipov, Dmitriy V., Ohler, Annemarie, Milto, Konstantin D., Melnikov, Daniel A., Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Kamei, Rachunliu G., Nguyen, Tan Van, Trofimets, Alexei V., Ambu, Johanna, Suchan, Tomasz, Prasad, Vishal Kumar, Mahony, Stephen, Alard, Bérénice, Edmonds, Devin, Jablonski, Daniel, Borzée, Amaël, Borkin, Leo J., Künzel, Sven, Crottini, Angelica, Konstantinov, Evgeny L., Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon, Gupta, Sandeep Kumar, Litvinchuk, Spartak N., Masroor, Rafaqat, Skorinov, Dmitriy V.

2025

Overview

Animal translocations provide striking examples of the human footprint on biodiversity. Combining continental-wide genomic and DNA-barcoding analyses, we reconstructed the historical biogeography of the Asian black-spined toad ( Duttaphrynus melanostictus ), a toxic commensal amphibian that currently threatens two biodiversity hotspots through biological invasions (Wallacea and Madagascar). The results emphasize a complex diversification shaped by speciation and mitochondrial introgression that comprises two distinct species. One species (true D. melanostictus ) is distributed in the Indian subcontinent and is invasive in Wallacea. The other species, whose nomenclature remains unsettled, diverged from D. melanostictus in the Miocene era (~7 Mya) and diversified across Southeast Asia, from where it was introduced to Madagascar. Remarkably, the Indonesian population of D. melanostictus was recently established from India, which suggests historical, possibly human-assisted dispersal across the Bay of Bengal, reflecting the centuries-old connection between these regions. The Asian black-spined toad is a widespread, poisonous, invasive amphibian. Here, the authors use genomic and DNA-barcoding data from this toad to document its complex evolutionary history, two distinct species, and potential historic dispersal assisted by humans.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 45 / 45/22 / 45/77 / 49/23 / 49/31 / 631/158 / 631/181 / 631/601/2721 / Amphibians / Animal biology / Animals / Asia, Southeastern / Bar codes / Biodiversity / Biodiversity hot spots / Biogeography / Biological effects / Biological invasions / Bufonidae - classification / Bufonidae - genetics / Deoxyribonucleic acid / DNA / DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic / DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics / Duttaphrynus melanostictus / Evolutionary genetics / Genetic Speciation / Genomics / Humanities and Social Sciences / India / Interspecific hybridization / Introduced Species / Invasive species / Life Sciences / Madagascar / Miocene / multidisciplinary / Nomenclature / Phylogeny / Phylogeography / Populations and Evolution / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Speciation / Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy / Toads / Translocation / Vertebrate Zoology