Zoological Studies

Geographical Variations of Rana sauteri (Anura: Ranidae) in Taiwan

Wen-Hao Chou and Jun-Yi Lin (1997) Geographical variations of Rana sauteri (Anura: Ranidae) in Taiwan. Zoological Studies 36(3): 201-221. Rana sauteri is widely distributed in hills and mountains of Taiwan from 100 to 3000 m in elevation, a range including subtropical to cool temperate climatic zones. Both the gastro­ myzophorous tadpoles and adults have distinct geographical variations in morphology. Clinal variation in the shape of the upper jaw sheath and the number of labial tooth rows occurs from the foothills of western Taiwan eastward through the Central Mountain Range to the eastern slopes of the Central Mountain Range This geographical pattern is supported and validated by multivariate analyses of adult morphology. Ac­ cording to the dispersal hypothesis, this geographical pattern may suggest that the dispersal center (= initial range of the ancestral group) was located in the western foothills, and it may indicate that the population expanded radially through the clinally variable transition zone to areas adjacent to the ridge of the Central Mountain Range (= range of the derived group). However, the establishment of the geographical pattern of R. sauteri seems to be better explained by the vicariance hypothesis which supports the occurrence of isolation-based dichotomous divergence within this grossly defined taxon.