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

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

doi:10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e118175

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

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

^*Corresponding author for this work

Forest and Landscape Ecology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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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.

Original language	English
Journal	Herpetozoa
Volume	37
Pages (from-to)	281-286
Number of pages	6
ISSN	1013-4425
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e118175
Publication status	Published - 2024

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Lizards were captured under permit of the Haut Commisariat aux Eaux and Forets of Morocco (HCEFLCD/ DLC-DPN/DPRN/DFF No14/2010). We thank our colleagues from CIBIO for assistance during the fieldwork. Part of this work was carried out during an ERASMUS scholarship of DS, supervised by DJH. DJH is funded through the Funda\u00E7\u00E3o para a Ci\u00EAncia e Tecnologia (FCT), CEECINST/00104/2021/CP2819/CT0003. This work was also supported by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Grant Agreement Number 857251.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright D. James Harris et al.

Funding

Lizards were captured under permit of the Haut Commisariat aux Eaux and Forets of Morocco (HCEFLCD/ DLC-DPN/DPRN/DFF No14/2010). We thank our colleagues from CIBIO for assistance during the fieldwork. Part of this work was carried out during an ERASMUS scholarship of DS, supervised by DJH. DJH is funded through the Funda\u00E7\u00E3o para a Ci\u00EAncia e Tecnologia (FCT), CEECINST/00104/2021/CP2819/CT0003. This work was also supported by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Grant Agreement Number 857251.

Keywords

Acanthodactylus lacrymae
Acanthodactylus montanus
NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4
phylogeography

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Cite this

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

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 {\textquotedblleft}Ibero-Moroccan{\textquotedblright} 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.",

keywords = "Acanthodactylus lacrymae, Acanthodactylus montanus, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, phylogeography",

author = "Harris, \{D. James\} and Dimitra Sergiadou and Faria, \{J. Filipe\}",

note = "Funding Information: Lizards were captured under permit of the Haut Commisariat aux Eaux and Forets of Morocco (HCEFLCD/ DLC-DPN/DPRN/DFF No14/2010). We thank our colleagues from CIBIO for assistance during the fieldwork. Part of this work was carried out during an ERASMUS scholarship of DS, supervised by DJH. DJH is funded through the Funda\textbackslash{}u00E7\textbackslash{}u00E3o para a Ci\textbackslash{}u00EAncia e Tecnologia (FCT), CEECINST/00104/2021/CP2819/CT0003. This work was also supported by the European Union\textbackslash{}u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Grant Agreement Number 857251. Publisher Copyright: Copyright D. James Harris et al.",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e118175",

language = "English",

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pages = "281--286",

journal = "Herpetozoa",

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AU - Harris, D. James

AU - Sergiadou, Dimitra

AU - Faria, J. Filipe

N1 - Funding Information: Lizards were captured under permit of the Haut Commisariat aux Eaux and Forets of Morocco (HCEFLCD/ DLC-DPN/DPRN/DFF No14/2010). We thank our colleagues from CIBIO for assistance during the fieldwork. Part of this work was carried out during an ERASMUS scholarship of DS, supervised by DJH. DJH is funded through the Funda\u00E7\u00E3o para a Ci\u00EAncia e Tecnologia (FCT), CEECINST/00104/2021/CP2819/CT0003. This work was also supported by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Grant Agreement Number 857251. Publisher Copyright: Copyright D. James Harris et al.

PY - 2024

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Acanthodactylus lacrymae

KW - Acanthodactylus montanus

KW - NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4

KW - phylogeography

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DO - 10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e118175

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