Pauwels OSG et al. (2023), Morphological, acoustic and genetic identifica...

XB-ART-60438

Zookeys 2023 Jan 01;1184:41-64. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1184.103702.

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Morphological, acoustic and genetic identification of a reproducing population of the invasive African clawed frog Xenopuslaevis (Anura, Pipidae) recently discovered in Belgium.

Pauwels OSG , Brecko J , Baeghe D , Venderickx J , Vanderheyden A , Backeljau T .

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Using external morphology of adults and tadpoles, osteology from high-resolution microcomputed tomography, vocalization analysis, and DNA sequence data, the identity of a reproducing Belgian population of invasive Xenopus at the current northernmost edge of the distribution of the genus in Europe was assessed. All data concur to an identification as Xenopus (Xenopus) laevis (Daudin, 1802). Genetically it is most closely related to populations of the Cape region in South Africa. No studies on the natural history of the Belgian Xenopus population and its impact on the local environment have been made to date.

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Genes referenced: mt-cyb stag1 stag3

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References [+] :

Araspin, Rapid Shifts in the Temperature Dependence of Locomotor Performance in an Invasive Frog, Xenopus laevis, Implications for Conservation. 2020, Pubmed, Xenbase

	Figure 1. Pond in Comines-Warneton village, Hainaut Province, Wallonia, Belgium, where Xenopus laevis were collected for the present study. Photograph by OSGP in September 2022.
	Figure 2. Adult female Xenopus laevis from Comines-Warneton, Belgium, in dorsal (RBINS 18740) and ventral (RBINS 18744) views. Photographs by JV.
	Dorsal pattern variation in adult male Xenopus laevis individuals from Comines-Warneton, Belgium A–F RBINS 18732–18734, RBINS 18738, RBINS 18743 & RBINS 18745, respectively. Photographs by JV.
	Figure 4. Dorsal pattern variation in adult female Xenopus laevis individuals from Comines-Warneton, Belgium A–F RBINS 18731, RBINS 18735–18737 & RBINS 18739–18740, respectively. Photographs by JV.
	Figure 5. X-ray computed tomogram of the skull of adult Xenopus laevis individuals from Comines-Warneton, Belgium in dorsal view, right profile and ventral view. Top = RBINS 18733 (male), bottom = RBINS 18736 (female). Scale bars: 5 mm. Scan by JB.
	Figure 6. X-ray computed tomogram of the full skeleton of adult Xenopus laevis (A male RBINS 18733 B female RBINS 18736) from Comines-Warneton, Belgium, in dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 cm.
	Figure 7. Tadpoles of Xenopus laevis from Comines-Warneton, Belgium, in dorsal view A–C RBINS 18723–18725, respectively at Gosner’s stages 36, 40, and 40. Photographs by JV.
	Figure 8. Oscillographs (A) and spectrographs (B) for three trill bouts recorded at 00:15 am from captive Xenopus laevis caught in Comines-Warneton, Belgium (water temperature 22 °C). Images by JB.

	Figure 10. Minimum Spanning Haplotype network of 16S sequences of Xenopus laevis. The sizes of the circles are proportional to haplotype frequencies. Colors refer to native (South Africa) and invaded regions (see legend). Numbers of mutations are marked by stripes on the connecting branches. Newly generated sequences are indicated as ‘‘Belgium’’. Abbreviations and haplotype names follow De Busschere et al. (2016), see Fig. 9.
	Figure 11. Adult Xenopus laevis in a wetland (34°7'0.2"S, 18°22'39.3"E) at the Lake Michelle eco estate, Noordhoek, Western Cape, South Africa. Photograph by M. Burger.
	Figure 12. Wetland (34°7'0.2"S, 18°22'39.3"E) at the Lake Michelle eco estate, Noordhoek, Western Cape, South Africa, home to Xenopus laevis. Photograph by M. Burger.
	Figure 13. Map of Belgium showing the location of the pond in Comines-Warneton (largest, northernmost, red star), Hainaut Province, Wallonia. The three other red stars, smaller, show, from north to south, the locations of Le Bizet, Rau d’Esseu, and La Chapelle d’Armentières, respectively. Map by A. Tovar and JV.
	Figure 14. Pond in La Chapelle d’Armentières, Nord Department, France, housing the northernmost French population of Xenopus laevis. Photograph by OSGP in September 2021.

﻿Morphological, acoustic and genetic identification of a reproducing population of the invasive African clawed frog Xenopuslaevis (Anura, Pipidae) recently discovered in Belgium.

Morphological, acoustic and genetic identification of a reproducing population of the invasive African clawed frog Xenopuslaevis (Anura, Pipidae) recently discovered in Belgium.