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Venom Comparisons and Relationships of Twenty Species of New World Toads (Genus Bufo)
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1967
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Animal TaxonomyUltraviolet RadiationToxinologyBotanyEntomologyVenom ComparisonsZoological TaxonomyPhylogenetic AnalysisArthropod TaxonomyPhylogeneticsMolecular EcologyParotoid Gland SecretionsMammalogyVenomicsParasitologyMorphological EvidenceNew World ToadsBiologyNatural SciencesEvolutionary BiologyPhylogenetic MethodMicrobiologyMedicineNew World SpeciesTwenty Species
Parotoid gland secretions from 20 New World species of Bufo have been compared electrochromatographically in order to obtain evidence bearing on relationships. The species studied are Bufo alvarius, B. americanus, B. arenarum, B. bocourti, B. canaliferus, B. cavifrons, B. coccifer, B. cognatus, B. compactilis, B. coniferus, B. haematiticus, B. ibarrai, B. luetkeni, B. marinus, B. marmoreus, B. occidentalis, B. perplexus, B. punctatus, B. terrestris, and B. valliceps. Spot patterns detected by ultraviolet radiation, ninhydrin, phosphomolybdic acid, KMnO4, and pnitroaniline were compared. Three types of resulting data were analyzed by computer, using the TAXON cluster analysis program. The 12 sets of results varied; some were rejected as unrealistic; acceptable results were viewed in the light of distribution, morphology, mating call, and genetic compatibility. The Tehuantepecan population of B. coccifer is diverging from its kind in Central America. The venom of B. valliceps wilsoni differs from venoms of other populations of the species. B. ibarrai appears to be related to B. coccifer and more distantly to B. valliceps. B. luetkeni and B. cavifrons belong in the B. valliceps group. Venom from B. coniferus resembles that of B. marinus. The venom of B. arenarum, considered a member of the B. marinus group, is very different from that of B. marinus and much like that of B. americanus. B. marmoreus and B. perplexus are so similar that they may be conspecific. B. canaliferus is close to these last two species and the three distantly related to B. valliceps. B. bocourti and B. occidentalis appear to be closely related but have been isolated sufficiently long to have diverged considerably. B. cognatus and B. compactilis are undoubtedly closely related. Two members of the B. americanus group, B. americanus and B. terrestris, have venoms that are more differentiated than those of the above complexes. The relationships of B. punctatus, B. haematiticus, and B. alvarius are uncertain.