New data on the diversity and distribution of lineages of the Acanthodactylus erythrurus species complex in North Africa derived from mitochondrial DNA markers

By

Harris, D James
Sergiadou, Dimitra
Faria, J. Filipe

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-9-4

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

37

Pages

281--286

Subjects

Acanthodactylus lacrymae , Acanthodactylus montanus , NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 , phylogeography

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e118175

 

Abstract

Patterns of morphological and genetic diversity within the fringe-toed lizards of the genus Acanthodactylus have puzzled systematists since the first assessments, and none more so than the Acanthodactylus erythrurus complex. A recent study combining multi-locus sequence data and morphological characters partially resolved the situation, identifying two new species in the southern part of the range in Morocco, but leaving an unresolved “Ibero-Moroccan” clade containing much of the genetic and morphological diversity. Here we sequenced a mitochondrial marker for new samples from across much of the distribution. Our data notably increase the known ranges of various species and lineages found in Morocco, and indicate a divergent genetic lineage within one of the newly described species. While far greater numbers of genetic markers will be needed to resolve taxonomic questions, greater geographic sampling is also still needed both to delimit the species, and to identify regions where potential genetic admixture may occur.