Evolutionary history of the Chilean frog genus Telmatobufo (Leptodactylidae): an immunological approach

The quantitative micro-complement fixation technique was used to estimate d egrees of relatedness and times of divergence between Caudiverbera and Telm atobufo. The data suggest that the lineages leading to Caudiverbera and Tel matobufo diverged about 35 million years ago. The divergence time among the three species of Telmatobufo was estimated to be 20-25 million years. Ouch terlony tests did not show immunological identity among T. australis and Z bullocki with Caudiverbera, while Z venustus showed partial identity. These analyses suggest that two groups can be recognized within the genus Telmat obufo. The molecular weights of albumins were similar among the Telmatobufo species and slightly lower in C. caudiverbera.