ABSTRACT
The Indonesian archipelago is an ideal setting for the study of speciation and biogeography.
This archipelago is divided into three island groups based on zoogeography: Sundaland, Wallacea
and the Australian region. In this paper we used frogs in genus Fejervarya (Bolkay) to study
biogeography and examine patterns of gene flow across proposed zoogeographic boundaries. Several
molecular studies on Fejervarya species from Indonesia have been carried out, but comparative
studies among members of the genus Fejervarya have yet to be performed. In order to elucidate
genetic divergence and geographic distribution of these frogs, we conducted a molecular analysis of
the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene using 179 frogs from five Fejervarya species. In total we collected
from 32 localities in Sumatra, Kalimantan (Indonesian part of Borneo), Java, Bali, Sulawesi and
Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. Molecular phylogenetic analysis recovered 35 haplotypes and
showed that frogs in the genus Fejervarya were divided into two well-supported clades. The first
group were of three species, F. limnocharis, F. iskandari and F. cf. verruculosa and the other
group clade consisted of Fejervarya cancrivora and Fejervarya sp. (Sulawesi-type). The average
sequence divergence among these four species ranged from 1.09 to 16.03% (mean = 11.29±2.83%).
The present results clearly show that there are five Fejervarya species in the Indonesian
archipelago. Fejervarya limnocharis and F. cancrivora are widely distributed and sympatric in
Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Fejervarya iskandari is not endemic to Java and also occurs in the Lesser
Sundas. Fejervarya cf. verruculosa and Fejervarya sp. (Sulawesi-type) are endemic to Lesser Sunda
and Sulawesi Island, respectively.