Multilocus phylogeny and coalescent species delimitation in Kotschy's gecko, Mediodactylus kotschyi: Hidden diversity and cryptic species
Language English Country United States Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PubMed
29555295
DOI
10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.022
PII: S1055-7903(17)30497-9
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Divergence times, Eastern Mediterranean, Gekkonidae, Species complex, Species delimitation, Systematics,
- MeSH
- Bayes Theorem MeSH
- Time Factors MeSH
- Species Specificity MeSH
- Phylogeny * MeSH
- Genetic Variation * MeSH
- Genetic Loci * MeSH
- Lizards classification genetics MeSH
- DNA, Mitochondrial genetics MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S genetics MeSH
- Sequence Alignment MeSH
- Geography MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- DNA, Mitochondrial MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S MeSH
Kotschy's Gecko, Mediodactylus kotschyi, is a small gecko native to southeastern Europe and the Levant. It displays great morphological variation with a large number of morphologically recognized subspecies. However, it has been suggested that it constitutes a species complex of several yet unrecognized species. In this study, we used multilocus sequence data (three mitochondrial and three nuclear gene fragments) to estimate the phylogenetic relationships of 174 specimens from 129 sampling localities, covering a substantial part of the distribution range of the species. Our results revealed high genetic diversity of M. kotschyi populations and contributed to our knowledge about the phylogenetic relationships and the estimation of the divergence times between them. Diversification within M. kotschyi began approximately 15 million years ago (Mya) in the Middle Miocene, whereas the diversification within most of the major clades have been occurred in the last 5 Mya. Species delimitation analysis suggests there exists five species within the complex, and we propose to tentatively recognize the following taxa as full species: M. kotschyi (mainland Balkans, most of Aegean islands, and Italy), M. orientalis (Levant, Cyprus, southern Anatolia, and south-eastern Aegean islands), M. danilewskii (Black Sea region and south-western Anatolia), M. bartoni (Crete), and M. oertzeni (southern Dodecanese Islands). This newly recognized diversity underlines the complex biogeographical history of the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Science and Arts Department of Biology 09010 Aydın Turkey
Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Science Department of Biology 35160 Buca İzmir Turkey
References provided by Crossref.org
