The mitochondrial phylogeography of the Crimean endemic lizard Darevskia lindholmi (Sauria, Lacertidae): Hidden diversity in an isolated mountain system

Abstract

The Lindholm rock lizard, Darevskia lindholmi, is the only member of the genus Darevskia whose range is restricted solely to Europe, representing a local endemism found only in the Crimean Mountains. In our study, we investigated the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) of 101 D. lindholmi sequences from 65 Crimean localities, representing its entire range. We found that D. lindholmi is highly genetically structured, and its range is divided into populations belonging to three mitochondrial lineages. The Lindholm rock lizard populations inhabiting the middle part of the Crimean Mountains (further referred to as the Central lineage) are sharply differentiated from the other two lineages (the Common and the Southwestern lineages), which are present in most of the species range. The genetic distance between the Central lineage and the other two taken together is 4.6%, according to our results, suggesting that the divergence occurred during the Early Pleistocene. The narrowly distributed Southwestern lineage and the widespread Common lineage, on the other hand, are differentiated by 1%. Field observations on the representatives of the main evolutionary groups show that their ecology is also different: the Central lineage is a mesophilic and cold-resistant form, while the other two closely related lineages are more xerophilic and thermophilic. Results of the potential ranges modeling and ecological niche analysis confirm that the genetic lineages occupy different niches of the Crimea. Furthermore, the area of inhabitation of the Central lineage splits the western and eastern parts of the Common lineage range, while the Southwestern lineage is restricted along the coast of the southwestern coast of the peninsula. The long-term co-existence of deeply divergent sister mitochondrial lineages in a relatively small (circa 7,000 km2) isolated mountain system serves as a mesocosm for understanding the speciation process. Our data suggest that the Central lineage warrants further taxonomic investigation.

Comparative characteristics of the postcranial skeleton of Rock lizards from the Darevskia (caucasica) and Darevskia (saxicola) complexes

“…Darevskia lindholmi демонстрирует нерезкие отличия от аллопатричных ей кавказских представителей комплекса D. (saxicola). В дальнейшем следует уделить внимание изучению криптических форм внутри D. lindholmi (Kukushkin et al 2021), поскольку между ними имеются различия как минимум по двум скелетным признакам: наименьшему количеству последних пресакральных позвонков с короткими ребрами и наличию особей с B-типом хвостовых позвонков.…”

“…[Doronin et al] 2021). Предполагается существование неописанных таксонов видового и/или подвидового ранга на периферии области распространения комплекса Darevskia (saxicola): в юго-восточной Грузии (Tarkhni shvili et al 2016) и Крыму (Kukushkin et al 2021); нуждается в уточнении систематическое положение alpina-подобных ящериц Южной Осетии и северного склона Большого Кавказа в Дагестане (Туниев и др. [Tuniyev et al] 2017); обсуждается возможный видовой статус D. c. vedenica (Лотиев и Доронин [Lotiev and Doronin] 2011; Доронин и др.…”

“…[Tuniyev et al] 2017); обсуждается возможный видовой статус D. c. vedenica (Лотиев и Доронин [Lotiev and Doronin] 2011; Доронин и др. [Doronin et al] * Принадлежность к митохондриальным кладам указана по Kukushkin et al (2021).…”

New records of the rock lizards of the genus Darevskia Arribas, 1999 (Sauria: Lacertidae) in the Caucasus. Communication 2

“…Существенно уточнен ареал эндемичной для Горного Крыма D. lindholmi (Szczerbak, 1962). По результатам молекулярно-генетических, экологических и морфологических исследований сделано предположение об обитании в Крыму двух близкородственных таксонов Darevskia ранга подвидов или даже видов (Kukushkin et al 2021a; Кукушкин и др. [Kukushkin et al] 2021b).…”