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The persistence and stability of habitats through time are considered predictors of high levels of biodiversity in some environments. Long‐term habitat persistence and stability may explain the species‐rich, endemic forest fauna and flora of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Region (EABR). Using complementary phylogenetic and biogeographical approaches, we examine evolutionary patterns in EABR brevicipitid frogs. Using these data, we test whether brevicipitid history reflects patterns of long‐term forest persistence and/or stability across the EABR.

East Africa.

A dated phylogeny for brevicipitids was constructed using two nuclear and three mitochondrial markers. Alternative diversification models were used to determine signal for constant or varying net diversification rates. Using our dated tree, we identified areas of high phylogenetic diversity (PD), and inferred ancestral areas …