Subspecies at crossroads: the evolutionary significance of genomic and phenotypic variation in a wide-ranging Australian lizard (<i>Ctenotus pantherinus</i>)

Prates, Ivan; Doughty, Paul; Rabosky, Daniel L.

doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac076

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 64 publications

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“…Georges et al 2018), whereas lack of clear evolutionary independence has led to suggestions to sink some morphologically recognised subspecies (e.g. Prates et al 2023). The choice remains partly subjective with regards to how much divergence or evidence of evolutionary independence is sufficient to recognise taxa.…”

Section: Genomic Group: Taxonomic Identification At the Outset Of Thi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using RADseq to resolve species boundaries in a morphologically complex group of yellow-flowered shrubs (Geleznowia, Rutaceae)

Anderson¹,

Binks²,

Byrne³

et al. 2023

Aust. Syst. Bot.

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The morphologically complex and charismatic genus Geleznowia (Rutaceae) is endemic to south-western Australia and faces existing and potential conservation issues associated with land clearing, climate change and commercial harvesting. Two species are currently recognised in the genus, but horticulturally recognised forms and phrase-named taxa reflect additional suspected species diversity. The genus exhibits complicated and subtle patterns of morphological variation that have historically inhibited delimitation of taxonomic entities and, as a result, precluded effective conservation assessments. Here we used ddRAD data from 25 populations across the range of Geleznowia to elucidate genomic diversity in the group in conjunction with morphological re-assessment so as to delimit species and revise the taxonomy. Our analyses consistently identified seven entities that maintain genomic distinctiveness even in sympatry with other entities, supporting the inference of reproductive barriers and lineage divergence. Morphological assessment of more than 300 specimens corroborated these seven taxa. Consequently, we recognise seven species of Geleznowia in Western Australia, retaining G. amabilis K.A.Sheph. & A.D.Crawford, recircumscribing G. verrucosa Turcz., reinstating G. calycina (J.Drumm. ex Harv.) Benth., and naming four new species as G. eximia K.A.Sheph. & A.D.Crawford, G. narcissoides K.A.Sheph. & A.D.Crawford, G. occulta K.A.Sheph. & A.D.Crawford, and G. uberiflora K.A.Sheph. & A.D.Crawford.

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Section: Genomic Group: Taxonomic Identification At the Outset Of Thi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using RADseq to resolve species boundaries in a morphologically complex group of yellow-flowered shrubs (Geleznowia, Rutaceae)

Anderson¹,

Binks²,

Byrne³

et al. 2023

Aust. Syst. Bot.

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The Black-winged Monarch (Monarcha frater): Geographic variation, taxonomy, a "new" population, and an enduring mystery in migration

et al. 2023

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Notes from the taxonomic disaster zone: Evolutionary drivers of intractable species boundaries in an Australian lizard clade (Scincidae: Ctenotus)

et al. 2023

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Genomic‐scale datasets, sophisticated analytical techniques, and conceptual advances have disproportionately failed to resolve species boundaries in some groups relative to others. To understand the processes that underlie taxonomic intractability, we dissect the speciation history of an Australian lizard clade that arguably represents a “worst‐case” scenario for species delimitation within vertebrates: the Ctenotus inornatus species group, a clade beset with decoupled genetic and phenotypic breaks, uncertain geographic ranges, and parallelism in purportedly diagnostic morphological characters. We sampled hundreds of localities to generate a genomic perspective on population divergence, structure, and admixture. Our results revealed rampant paraphyly of nominate taxa in the group, with lineages that are either morphologically cryptic or polytypic. Isolation‐by‐distance patterns reflect spatially continuous differentiation among certain pairs of putative species, yet genetic and geographic distances are decoupled in other pairs. Comparisons of mitochondrial and nuclear gene trees, tests of nuclear introgression, and historical demographic modelling identified gene flow between divergent candidate species. Levels of admixture are decoupled from phylogenetic relatedness; gene flow is often higher between sympatric species than between parapatric populations of the same species. Such idiosyncratic patterns of introgression contribute to species boundaries that are fuzzy while also varying in fuzziness. Our results suggest that “taxonomic disaster zones” like the C. inornatus species group result from spatial variation in the porosity of species boundaries and the resulting patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation. This study raises questions about the origin and persistence of hybridizing species and highlights the unique insights provided by taxa that have long eluded straightforward taxonomic categorization.

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Subspecies at crossroads: the evolutionary significance of genomic and phenotypic variation in a wide-ranging Australian lizard (Ctenotus pantherinus)

Cited by 4 publications

References 64 publications

Using RADseq to resolve species boundaries in a morphologically complex group of yellow-flowered shrubs (Geleznowia, Rutaceae)

Using RADseq to resolve species boundaries in a morphologically complex group of yellow-flowered shrubs (Geleznowia, Rutaceae)

The Black-winged Monarch (Monarcha frater): Geographic variation, taxonomy, a "new" population, and an enduring mystery in migration

Notes from the taxonomic disaster zone: Evolutionary drivers of intractable species boundaries in an Australian lizard clade (Scincidae: Ctenotus)

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