Natalia B. Ananjeva

Evolutionary shifts in three major structural features of the mitochondrial genome among iguanian lizards.

Abstract. A phylogenetic tree for major lineages of iguanian lizards is estimated from 1,488 aligned base positions (858 informative) of newly reported mitochondrial DNA sequences representing coding regions for eight tRNAs, ND2, and portions of ND1 and COI. Two well-supported groups are defined, the Acrodonta and the Iguanidae (sensu lato). This phylogenetic hypothesis is used to investigate evolutionary shifts in mitochondrial gene order, origin for light-strand replication, and secondary structure of tRNACys. These three characters shift together on the branch leading to acrodont lizards. Plate tectonics and the fossil record indicate that these characters changed in the Jurassic. We propose that changes to the secondary structure of tRNACys may destroy function of the origin for light-strand replication which, in turn, may facilitate shifts in gene order.

Availability of new Bayesian-delimited gecko names and the importance of character-based species descriptions

Leache & Fujita [[1][1]] present an empirical example of Bayesian species delimitation (BSD; [[2][2]]) to recognize three new species of African geckos from within the range of the widespread taxon Hemidactylus fasciatus , Gray 1842. As with any new method, BSD will undoubtedly generate questions

A phylogeny of Chinese species in the genus Phrynocephalus (Agamidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

We investigated the phylogenetic relationships among most Chinese species of lizards in the genus Phrynocephalus (118 individuals collected from 56 populations of 14 well-defined species and several unidentified specimens) using four mitochondrial gene fragments (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, cytochrome b, and ND4-tRNA(LEU)). The partition-homogeneity tests indicated that the combined dataset was homogeneous, and maximum-parsimony (MP), neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian (BI) analyses were performed on this combined dataset (49 haplotypes including outgroups for 2058bp in total). The maximum-parsimony analysis resulted in 24 equally parsimonious trees, and their strict consensus tree shows that there are two major clades representing the Chinese Phrynocephalus species: the viviparous group (Clade A) and the oviparous group (Clade B). The trees derived from Bayesian, ML, and NJ analyses were topologically identical to the MP analysis except for the position of P. mystaceus. All analyses left the nodes for the oviparous group, the most basal clade within the oviparous group, and P. mystaceus unresolved. The phylogenies further suggest that the monophyly of the viviparous species may have resulted from vicariance, while recent dispersal may have been important in generating the pattern of variation among the oviparous species.

Historical biogeography, phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific diversity of agamid lizards in the Central Asian deserts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

The Central Asian agamid lizards are ecologically and morphologically diverse, occurring across a broad range of desert environments in this biogeographically important region. It is probable that past climatic shifts have significantly influenced the diversification patterns and distributions of the agamid lizards of this region. To assess this within a phylogenetic framework we sequenced a approximately 1200 bp region of mitochondrial DNA and a approximately 1200 bp nuclear gene (RAG-1), incorporating both inter- and intraspecific sampling across Central Asian agamids. Our topology and divergence time estimates support an Eocene origin of the Agaminae subfamily on the Indian subcontinent, coinciding with the collision of India into Eurasia. The onset of aridification in Central Asia during the Late Oligocene, resulting from the retreat of the Paratethys Sea and the intensified uplift of the Tibetan-Himalayan complex, probably played an important role in the diversification of Phrynocephalus, one of the three genera studied. Intensification of aridity and geologic events in the Plio-Pleistocene and Quaternary glacial cycling probably had a significant influence on intraspecific diversification patterns within Phrynocephalus.

Phylogeny and divergence times of some racerunner lizards (Lacertidae: Eremias) inferred from mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene segments

Eremias, or racerunners, is a widespread lacertid genus occurring in China, Mongolia, Korea, Central Asia, Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe. It has been through a series of taxonomic revisions, but the phylogenetic relationships among the species and subgenera remain unclear. In this study, a frequently studied region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA was used to (i) reassess the phylogenetic relationships of some Eremias species, (ii) test if the viviparous species form a monophyletic group, and (iii) estimate divergence time among lineages using a Bayesian relaxed molecular-clock approach. The resulting phylogeny supports monophyly of Eremias sensu Szczerbak and a clade comprising Eremias, Acanthodactylus and Latastia. An earlier finding demonstrating monophyly of the subgenus Pareremias is corroborated, with Eremias argus being the sister taxon to Eremias brenchleyi. We present the first evidence that viviparous species form a monophyletic group. In addition, Eremias przewalskii is nested within Eremias multiocellata, suggesting that the latter is likely a paraphyletic species or a species complex. Eremias acutirostris and Eremias persica form a clade that is closely related to the subgenus Pareremias. However, the subgenera Aspidorhinus, Scapteira, and Rhabderemias seem not to be monophyletic, respectively. The Bayesian divergence-time estimation suggests that Eremias originated at about 9.9 million years ago (with the 95% confidence interval ranging from 7.6 to 12 Ma), and diversified from Late Miocene to Pleistocene. Specifically, the divergence time of the subgenus Pareremias was dated to about 6.3 million years ago (with the 95% confidence interval ranging from 5.3 to 8.5 Ma), which suggests that the diversification of this subgenus might be correlated with the evolution of an East Asian monsoon climate triggered by the rapid uplift of the Tibetan Plateau approximately 8 Ma.

Socotra Island the forgotten fragment of Gondwana: unmasking chameleon lizard history with complete mitochondrial genomic data.

Department of Biology, Merritt College, 12500 Campus Drive, Oakland, CA 94619, USA Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Department of Evolutionary Genomics, DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598-1631, USA Department of Biology, Box 1137, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA Department of Biology, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36, Al Khoud, PC 123, Muscat, Oman Department of Biology, Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Turkey Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia h Zoological Survey Department, Government of Pakistan, Block 61, Pakistan Secretariat, Shahrah-e-Iraq, Karachi, Pakistan i Zoological Survey Department, Government of Pakistan, Kiyani Road, Bhara Kahu, Islamabad, Pakistan Amoud University, Borama, Somaliland k Faculty of Sciences, Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey, P.O. Box 10662 Niamey, Niger

Assembly of the eastern North American herpetofauna: New evidence from lizards and frogs

Darwin first recognized the importance of episodic intercontinental dispersal in the establishment of worldwide biotic diversity. Faunal exchange across the Bering Land Bridge is a major example of such dispersal. Here, we demonstrate with mitochondrial DNA evidence that three independent dispersal events from Asia to North America are the source for almost all lizard taxa found in continental eastern North America. Two other dispersal events across Beringia account for observed diversity among North American ranid frogs, one of the most species-rich groups of frogs in eastern North America. The contribution of faunal elements from Asia via dispersal across Beringia is a dominant theme in the historical assembly of the eastern North American herpetofauna.

Phylogenetic relationships among Asian gekkonid lizards formerly of the genus Cyrtodactylus based on cladistic analyses of allozymic data: Monophyly of Cyrtopodion and Mediodactylus

The phylogenetic relationships of geckos formerly regarded as Cyrtodactylus are estimated using allozymic data from 18 loci. Three genera are used as potential outgroup taxa, Gekko, Nactus, and Teratoscincus (three species). Allozymic data are coded in two ways for phylogenetic inference. Phylogenetic analysis of the data, when coded for the presence or absence of alleles, produces a robust phylogenetic hypothesis depicting sampled species of Cyrtopodion and Mediodactylus as separate monophyletic groups. A similar topology is recovered from analysis of the data when allele combinations are coded as character states and step matrices are used. Full generic status of Cyrtopodion and Mediodactylus is recommended. Mediodactylus russowi from the Iii River Valley of Kazakhstan and the Junggar Depression of China may represent a distinct species, based on a number of fixed and frequency differences when compared with Mediodactylus russowi from the Kara Rum Desert of Turkmenistan, but further work is needed. Phylogenetic relationships within Cyrtopodion and Mediodactylus suggest hypotheses of area relationships for the fauna of Central Asia.

Mitochondrial phylogeny shows multiple independent ecological transitions and northern dispersion despite of Pleistocene glaciations in meadow and steppe vipers (Vipera ursinii and Vipera renardi)

The phylogeny and historical demography of small Eurasian vipers of the Vipera ursinii and V. renardi complexes were studied using mitochondrial DNA sequences analysed with Bayesian inference, Maximum Likelihood and Maximum Parsimony approaches, and mismatch distributions. Diversification in the group resulted from an initial dispersion in the later Pliocene - Pleistocene in two directions: north-westwards via the Balkans (V. ursinii complex) and north-eastwards from Asia Minor via the Caucasus (V. renardi complex). An independent, comparatively recent transition occurred from montane habitats to lowland grasslands in different mitochondrial lineages during the Late Pleistocene, when representatives of the both complexes had reached lowland steppes to the north. Effective population size showed clear signs of rapid growth in eastern V. renardi, triggered by colonization of vast lowland steppes, but in western V. ursinii complex grew during the Last Glaciation and experienced stabilization in Holocene. Expansion and population growth in lowland lineages of V. renardi was not strongly affected by Pleistocene climatic oscillations, when cold, dry conditions could have favoured species living in open grasslands. The high diversity of closely related haplotypes in the Caucasus and Tien-Shan could have resulted from repetitive expansion-constriction-isolation events in montane regions during Pleistocene climate fluctuations. The mitochondrial phylogeny pattern conflicts with the current taxonomy.

A New Species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Hainan Island, China

Abstract A new species of Goniurosaurus described from Hainan Island is differentiated from all other species by having a series of enlarged, flat, imbricate scales on the mediolateral portions of the wrist; 37–46 preanal pores as opposed to 18–32 for all other species that have preanal pores; thin as opposed to wide juvenile body bands; faint, whitish colored bands in the caudal interspaces; and caudal bands being incomplete ventrally in adults. A phylogenetic analysis reveals that the new species is the basal member of the Goniurosaurus luii group. It differs from the other members of this group, Goniurosaurus luii and Goniurosaurus araneus, in being less than 107 mm in maximum snout vent length, having a more robust body stature, lacking elongate curved penultimate phalanges, having short robust digits, and having thin dark borders on the body bands. Three species of Goniurosaurus occur on Hainan Island.