First assessment on the molecular phylogeny of Anatololacerta (Squamata, Lacertidae) distributed in Southern Anatolia: insights from mtDNA and nDNA markers

Abstract

The genus Anatololacerta (Lacertidae) occurs mainly in Anatolia (western and southern Turkey) and on the Aegean islands Samos, Ikaria, and Rhodos. Although its taxonomy has long been debated and is currently nascent, three morphological species have been attributed to this genus: Anatololacerta anatolica, Anatololacerta oertzeni, and Anatololacerta danfordi. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history of A. oertzeni and Anatololacerta danfordi based on both mitochondrial and nuclear markers (16S rRNA and cmos). In total, 34 Anatololacerta specimens were analyzed using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Our results supported the presence of four well-supported lineages: two belongs to A. oertzeni and two to A. danfordi. The temporal diversification of these lineages probably started with the divergence of the first A. oertzeni lineage from western Antalya at 7.9 Mya. The other two major splits may have occurred in early Pliocene (4.4 Mya: the divergence of the second A. oertzeni from A. danfordi) and in late Pliocene (2.7 Mya: the divergence of the two lineages of A. danfordi). The phylogeographical scenario suggests that the major diversification events (from late Miocene to late Pliocene) could be related with climatic oscillations (such as the late Miocene aridification and the Messinian Salinity Crisis) and tectonic movements (such as the uplift of the central Taurus mountain).

More evidence of cryptic diversity in Anatololacerta species complex Arnold, Arribas and Carranza, 2007 (Squamata: Lacertidae) and re-evaluation of its current taxonomy

“…Another major challenge which causes problems in the definition of taxa and inevitably in the description of their relationships is cryptic diversity. This happens when genetic diversity is not congruent with phenotypic heterogeneity, which is a common phenomenon within Lacertidae genera (Böhme et al, 2007;Pinho et al, 2007;Lue and Lin, 2008;Kaliontzopoulou et al, 2011Kaliontzopoulou et al, , 2012Barata et al, 2012;Schulte et al, 2012;Ahmadzadeh et al, 2013;Podnar et al, 2014;Tamar et al, 2015;Wagner et al, 2015;Freitas et al, 2016;Psonis et al, 2017;Šmíd et al, 2017;Greenbaum et al, 2018;Mendes et al, 2018) with Anatololacerta being one of them (Bellati et al, 2015;Candan et al, 2016).…”

Taxonomic assessment and distribution of common toads (Bufo bufo and B. verrucosissimus) in Turkey based on morphological and molecular data

“…1). These mountains have provided a complex topographic and microclimatic setting that has functioned as a historical refugium for the persistence of many amphibians (Gvozdik et al, 2010;Gül, 2013;Plötner et al, 2015;van Riemsdijk et al, 2017) and reptiles (Kapli et al, 2013;Tamar et al, 2015;Candan et al, 2016;Skourtanioti et al, 2016;Stümpel et al, 2016;Kotsakiozi et al, 2018). These populations of B. verrucosissimus seem to be isolated from those in Syria and Lebanon (see Jablonski and Sadek, 2019).…”

Ixodid ticks on Oertzen’s Rock Lizard (Anatololacerta oertzeni) on Ikaria, Greece, with notes on the island’s reptiles

“…These species are very similar, and A. anatolica does occur on the neighboring island of Samos (Bellati et al 2015). The taxonomy of this group of lizards has long been disputed (e.g., Candan et al 2016) and confusion persists due to the various taxonomies used by different authors and authorities (e.g., Arnold et al 2007).…”