In the present study we use an unprecedented database of 5,535 distributional records to infer the diversity, ecological preferences and spatial distribution of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and use the 57 native species to test the effectiveness of the protected areas' network in conserving this unique vertebrate fauna. We infer a time-calibrated phylogeny with 146 species of squamates and 15 genes including all UAE terrestrial reptile species to determine the phylogenetic diversity (PD) and evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) of the native species and to compare it with the distribution of the hotspots of native species richness. The results of this study indicate that the sampling effort is remarkable, covering 75% of the country's territory representing nearly the entire climatic space of the UAE defined by the mean annual temperature and the total annual precipitation, as well as the multivariate climatic space defined by a principal component analysis (PCA). Species richness is highest in the northeast of the country, in a transitional area from sandy desert to the mountainous terrain of the Hajar Mountains. The highest PD of a single square cell of 10 arc-minutes grid is of 2,430 million years (my) of accumulated evolutionary history and the strong correlation between PD and species richness suggests that the raw number of species is a good surrogate to quantify the evolutionary history (i.e., PD). The species with the highest values of ED are those in families represented by only one species in the UAE. Finally, the assessment of the UAE protected areas shows that, despite their relevance in protecting the terrestrial reptiles, they do not offer adequate protection for some threatened species. Therefore, a reassessment of some of the protected areas or the creation of species specific conservation action plans are recommended in order to ensure the preservation of the unique diversity of UAE terrestrial reptiles.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• biologická evoluce * MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• fylogeneze * MeSH
• ještěři fyziologie   MeSH
• ohrožené druhy * MeSH
• zachování přírodních zdrojů * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Spojené arabské emiráty MeSH

The lacertid lizards of the genus Mesalina inhabit the arid regions of the Old World, from North Africa to NW India. Of the 19 recognized species within the genus, eleven occur in Arabia. In this study, we explore the genetic variability and phylogeographic patterns of the less studied M. adramitana group from southern Arabia and the Socotra Archipelago within the phylogenetic and biogeographic context of the entire genus. Our unprecedented sampling extends the distribution ranges of most Mesalina species and, for the first time, sequences of M. ayunensis are included in a phylogenetic analysis. We perform analyses of concatenated multilocus datasets and species trees, conduct species delimitation analyses, and estimate divergence times within a biogeographic framework. Additionally, we inferred the environmental suitability and identified dispersal corridors through which gene flow is enabled within M. adramitana. Our results show that the Socotra Archipelago was colonized approximately 7 Mya by a single oversea colonization from mainland Arabia. Then, an intra-archipelago dispersal event that occurred approximately 5 Mya resulted in the speciation between M. balfouri, endemic to Socotra, Samha and Darsa Islands, and M. kuri, endemic to Abd al Kuri Island. Similar to previous studies, we uncovered high levels of genetic diversity within the M. adramitana species-group, with two highly divergent lineages of M. adramitana living in allopatry and adapted to locally specific climatic conditions that necessitate further investigation.

• MeSH
• biologické modely MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• fylogeografie * MeSH
• genetická variace MeSH
• ještěři klasifikace   genetika   MeSH
• migrace zvířat MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA genetika   MeSH
• ostrovy * MeSH
• sekvence nukleotidů MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arábie MeSH
• ostrovy * MeSH
• severní Afrika MeSH

In the present work, we use an exceptional database including 5,359 records of 101 species of Oman's terrestrial reptiles together with spatial tools to infer the spatial patterns of species richness and endemicity, to infer the habitat preference of each species and to better define conservation priorities, with especial focus on the effectiveness of the protected areas in preserving this unique arid fauna. Our results indicate that the sampling effort is not only remarkable from a taxonomic point of view, with multiple observations for most species, but also for the spatial coverage achieved. The observations are distributed almost continuously across the two-dimensional climatic space of Oman defined by the mean annual temperature and the total annual precipitation and across the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the multivariate climatic space and are well represented within 17 out of the 20 climatic clusters grouping 10% of the explained climatic variance defined by PC1 and PC2. Species richness is highest in the Hajar and Dhofar Mountains, two of the most biodiverse areas of the Arabian Peninsula, and endemic species richness is greatest in the Jebel Akhdar, the highest part of the Hajar Mountains. Oman's 22 protected areas cover only 3.91% of the country, including within their limits 63.37% of terrestrial reptiles and 50% of all endemics. Our analyses show that large areas of the climatic space of Oman lie outside protected areas and that seven of the 20 climatic clusters are not protected at all. The results of the gap analysis indicate that most of the species are below the conservation target of 17% or even the less restrictive 12% of their total area within a protected area in order to be considered adequately protected. Therefore, an evaluation of the coverage of the current network of protected areas and the identification of priority protected areas for reptiles using reserve design algorithms are urgently needed. Our study also shows that more than half of the species are still pending of a definitive evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• plazi klasifikace   MeSH
• podnebí MeSH
• zachování přírodních zdrojů metody   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Omán MeSH

A molecular phylogeny of the sphaerodactylid geckos of the genus Pristurus is inferred based on an alignment of 1845 base pairs (bp) of concatenated mitochondrial (12S) and nuclear (acm4, cmos, rag1 and rag2) genes for 80 individuals, representing 18 of the 23-26 species, and the three subspecies of P. rupestris. The results indicate that P. rupestris is polyphyletic and includes two highly divergent clades: the eastern clade, found in coastal Iran and throughout the Hajar Mountain range in northern Oman and eastern UAE; and the western clade, distributed from central coastal Oman, through Yemen, Saudi Arabia and north to southern Jordan. Inferred haplotype networks for the four nuclear genes show that the eastern and western clades of "P. rupestris" are highly differentiated and do not share any alleles. Moreover, although the two clades are differentiated by a morphological multivariate analysis, no one character or set of characters was found to be diagnostic. Based on the molecular analysis of specimens from the type locality of P. rupestris rupestris, the name P. rupestris is applied to the eastern clade. The name that should apply to the western clade cannot be clarified until morphological and genetic data for "P. rupestris" is available from the vicinity of Bosaso, Somalia, and therefore we refer to it as Pristurus sp. 1. The phylogenetic tree of Pristurus supports the hypothesis that P. celerrimus is sister to all the other species in the analyses and that the Socotra Archipelago was independently colonized a minimum of two times.

• MeSH
• fylogeneze * MeSH
• ještěři klasifikace   genetika   MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA genetika   MeSH
• rozšíření zvířat MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Somálsko MeSH
• Střední východ MeSH