Relicts and radiations: Phylogenomics of an Australasian lizard clade with east Gondwanan origins (Gekkota: Diplodactyloidea)

Publication date: Available online 16 August 2019Source: Molecular Phylogenetics and EvolutionAuthor(s): Phillip L. Skipwith, Ke Bi, Paul M. OliverAbstractAustralasia harbors very high squamate diversity and is a center of endemicity for a number of major lineages. However, despite this diversity, the diplodactyloid geckos of Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand (comprised of three endemic families and> 200 species) are the only extant squamates with unequivocal Mesozoic origins in the region. Diplodactyloid geckos also exhibit notable phenotypic and ecological diversity, most strikingly illustrated by the functionally limbless pygopods. Here, we present the first phylogenomic analyses of the pattern and timing of diplodactyloid evolution, based on a dataset of more than 4,000 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from 180 species. These analyses fully resolve nearly all nodes, including a number of intergeneric relationships that have proven problematic in previous studies. The hypothesis that New Caledonia and New Zealand clades represent independent post-KT boundary colonization events of Tasmantis from Australian ancestors is confirmed. Phylogenetic relationships recovered here further highlight contrasting patterns of diversity, most strikingly between insular and/or morphologically highly derived clades that have diversified rapidly, as opposed to other species poor and phylogenetically divergent relictual lineages on mainland Australia. Our new timetree suggests slightly...

Source: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - August 16, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research