Phylogeny and cryptic diversification in Southeast Asian flying geckos
The closed-canopy forests of Southeast Asia are home to an impressive number of vertebrates that have independently evolved morphologies that enhance directed aerial descent (gliding, parachuting). These assemblages include numerous mammal, frog, snake, and lizard clades. Several genera of gekkoni...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier Ltd
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/3563/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/3563/1/Phylogeny.pdf |
| Summary: | The closed-canopy forests of Southeast Asia are home to an impressive number of vertebrates that have
independently evolved morphologies that enhance directed aerial descent (gliding, parachuting). These
assemblages include numerous mammal, frog, snake, and lizard clades. Several genera of gekkonid liz-
ards, in particular, have evolved specialized structures such as cutaneous expansions, flaps, and midbody
patagia, that enhance lift generation in the context of unique gliding and parachuting locomotion. The
genus
Ptychozoon
represents arguably the most morphologically extreme, highly specialized clade of glid-
ing geckos. Despite their notoriety and celebrated locomotor ability, members of the genus
Ptychozoon
have never been the subject of a species-level molecular phylogenetic analysis. In this paper, we utilize
molecular sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments to estimate the evolutionary
relationships of this unique group of flying geckos. Capitalizing on the recent availability of genetic sam-
ples for even the rarest of known species, we include the majority of known taxa and use model-based
phylogenetic methods to reconstruct their evolutionary history. Because one species,
P. kuhli
, exhibits
an unusually wide distribution coupled with an impressive range of morphological variation, we addi-
tionally use intensive phylogeographic/population genetic sampling, phylogenetic network analyses,
and Bayesian species delimitation procedures to evaluate this taxon for the possible presence of cryptic
evolutionary lineages. Our results suggest that
P. kuhli
may consist of between five and nine unrecog-
nized, distinct species. Although we do not elevate these lineages to species status here, our findings sug-
gest that lineage diversity in
Ptychozoon
is likely dramatically underestimated. |
|---|