Data from: Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (Genus Rana): a historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms

True frogs of the genus Rana are widely used as model organisms in studies
of development, genetics, physiology, ecology, behavior, and evolution.
Comparative studies among the more than 100 species of Rana rely on an
understanding of the evolutionary history and patterns of diversification
of the group. We estimate a well-resolved, time-calibrated phylogeny from
sequences of six nuclear and three mitochondrial loci sampled from most
species of Rana, and use that phylogeny to clarify the group’s
diversification and global biogeography. Our analyses consistently support
an “Out of Asia” pattern with two independent dispersals of Rana from East
Asia to North America via Beringian land bridges. The more species-rich
lineage of New World Rana appears to have experienced a rapid radiation
following its colonization of the New World, especially with its expansion
into montane and tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and South
America. In contrast, Old World Rana exhibit different trajectories of
diversification; diversification in the Old World began very slowly and
later underwent a distinct increase in speciation rate around 29–18 Ma.
Net diversification is associated with environmental changes and
especially intensive tectonic movements along the Asian margin from the
Oligocene to early Miocene. Our phylogeny further suggests that previous
classifications were misled by morphological homoplasy and plesiomorphic
color patterns, as well as a reliance primarily on mitochondrial genes. We
provide a phylogenetic taxonomy based on analyses of multiple nuclear and
mitochondrial gene loci.