Historical Climate and Biome Association Drove Phylogeographic Patterns in the Dwarf Swamp Frog (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

South America, a region with high biodiversity, has been profoundly shaped by geological events during the Miocene and Pliocene, as well as by climatic changes in the Pleistocene, leading to complex phylogeographic patterns. The diverse biomes and the biotic exchanges between them, particularly between the Amazon and the Cerrado, have significantly influenced the biological diversity within these environments. Phylogeographic studies of anuran amphibians are crucial for understanding the biogeographic history of these biomes. Herein, we assessed species limits, genetic diversity and biogeographic history of the leptodactylid frog Pseudopaludicola canga , distributed in the Canga areas of the eastern Amazon and the Cerrado. We recovered two evolutionary lineages within P. canga that diverged during the Pleistocene. Based on the observed genetic structuring of P. canga , we propose the designation of two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) corresponding to the morphoclimatic domains of the Amazon and Cerrado.