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Shea GM. Nomenclature of supra-generic units within the Family Scincidae (Squamata). Zootaxa 2021; 5067:301-351. [PMID: 34810739 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5067.3.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The modern classification of skinks is based on a nomenclature that dates to the 1970s. However, there are a number of earlier names in the family group that have been overlooked by recent workers. These names are identified and their validity with respect to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature investigated, along with their type genera. In most cases, use of these names to supplant junior synonyms in modern day use is avoidable by use of the Reversal of Precedence articles of the Code, but the names remain available in case of future divisions at the tribe and subtribe level. Other names are unavailable due to homonymy, either of their type genera or the stems from similar but non-homonymous type genera. However, the name Egerniini is replaced by Tiliquini, due to a limited timespan of use of Egerniini. A new classification of the Family Scincidae is proposed, providing a more extensive use of Code-regulated levels of classification, including tribes and subtribes, and a detailed synonymy provided for each taxonomic unit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn M Shea
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science B01, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William St, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia .
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2
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Svinin A, Dedukh DV, Borkin LJ, Ermakov O, Ivanov A, Litvinchuk J, Zamaletdinov R, Mikhaylova R, Trubyanov AB, Skorinov D, Rosanov Y, Litvinchuk S. Genetic structure, morphological variation, and gametogenic peculiarities in water frogs (
Pelophylax
) from northeastern European Russia. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anton Svinin
- Mari State University Yoshkar‐Ola Russia
- National Research Tomsk State University Tomsk Russia
| | | | - Leo J. Borkin
- Zoological Institute Russian Academy of Sciences Saint‐Petersburg Russia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Dmitriy Skorinov
- Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences Saint‐Petersburg Russia
| | - Yurij Rosanov
- Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences Saint‐Petersburg Russia
| | - Spartak Litvinchuk
- Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences Saint‐Petersburg Russia
- Dagestan State University Makhachkala Russia
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3
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Čerňanský A. The first potential fossil record of a dibamid reptile (Squamata: Dibamidae): a new taxon from the early Oligocene of Central Mongolia. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Dibamid reptiles have a known current distribution on two continents (Asia and North America). Although this clade represents an early-diverging group in the Squamata and thus should have a long evolutionary history, no fossil record of these peculiar burrowing squamate reptiles has been documented so far. The fossil material described here comes from the early Oligocene of the Valley of Lakes in Central Mongolia. This material consists of jaws and is placed in the clade Dibamidae on the basis of its morphology, which is further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. In spite of the fragmentary nature of this material, it thus forms the first, but putative, fossil evidence of this clade. If correctly interpreted, this material demonstrates the occurrence of Dibamidae in East Asia in the Palaeogene, indicating its distribution in higher latitudes than today. The preserved elements possess a unique combination of character states, and a new taxon name is therefore erected: Hoeckosaurus mongoliensis sp. nov. The dentary of Hoeckosaurus exhibits some characters of the two extant dibamid taxa. However, the open Meckel’s groove, together with other characters, show that this group was morphologically much more diverse in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrej Čerňanský
- Department of Ecology, Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova, Bratislava, Slovakia
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4
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Lavin BR, Girman DJ. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence dating in the Glass Lizards (Anguinae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018; 133:128-140. [PMID: 30584918 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The Glass Lizards are a subfamily (Anguinae) of Anguid Lizards with an elongated limbless body plan that occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia, but also have a presence in North Africa and Indonesia. We used twenty-five nuclear loci (15,191 bp) and 2090 bp of the mtDNA genome to generate a phylogeny containing all known species groups to explore species relationships within the group as well as divergence dating. We also examined the group in the context of a coalescent species tree analysis and species delimitation. All major lineages were found to be monophyletic with potential cryptic diversity in some. The Anguinae first appeared in the Eocene and most lineages were present by the beginning of the Miocene. The Anguinae originated in Europe from an Anguidae ancestor that crossed the Thulean land bridge, spreading to Asia after the drying of the Turgai Sea, then across Beringia as the climate permitted. A species tree analyses found support for the major Anguinae lineages and species delimitation supported accepted species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Lavin
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA.
| | - Derek J Girman
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA.
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5
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Ren Z, Harris AJ, Dikow RB, Ma E, Zhong Y, Wen J. Another look at the phylogenetic relationships and intercontinental biogeography of eastern Asian - North American Rhus gall aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Eriosomatinae): Evidence from mitogenome sequences via genome skimming. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2017; 117:102-110. [PMID: 28533083 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 05/17/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The Rhus gall aphids are sometimes referred to as subtribe Melaphidina (Aphididae: Eriosomatinae: Fordini) and comprise a unique group that forms galls on the primary host plants, Rhus. We examined the evolutionary relationships within the Melaphidina aphids using sequences of the complete mitochondrial genome and with samples of 11 of the 12 recognized species representing all six genera. Bayesian, maximum likelihood and parsimony analyses of the mitochondrial genome data support five well-supported clades within Melaphidina: (1) Nurudea (except N. ibofushi), (2) Schlechtendalia-Nurudea ibofushi, (3) Meitanaphis-Kaburagia, (4) Floraphis, and (5) Melaphis. Nurudea shiraii and N. yanoniella are sister to each other, but N. ibofushi is nested within Schlechtendalia. The Nurudea shiraii-N. yanoniella clade is sister to the large clade of the remaining taxa of Melaphidina aphids. The Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses support the North American Melaphis rhois as sister to the clade of Floraphis-Kaburagia-Meitanaphis-Schlechtendalia from eastern Asia, whereas the parsimony analysis suggests Melaphis sister to Floraphis with low support (bootstrap support 38%), and the amino acid data weakly place it sister to Schlechtendalia-Nurudea ibofushi. The Melaphis position needs to be further tested with nuclear data. Meitanaphis flavogallis is sister to Kaburagia species instead of grouping with Meitanaphis elongallis. Using the Bayesian method, the North American Melaphis was estimated to have diverged from its closest Asian relatives around 64.6 (95% HPD 59.4-69.8) Ma, which is in the early Paleocene near the Cretaceous and Paleogene boundary (K/Pg boundary). At the K/Pg boundary, mass extinctions caused many types of insect-plant associations to disappear, and these extinctions may explain some of the difficulties in the phylogenetic placement of Melaphis within the analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhumei Ren
- School of Life Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Rd, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
| | - A J Harris
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, MRC-166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
| | - Rebecca B Dikow
- Office of Research Information Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
| | - Enbo Ma
- Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Rd, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
| | - Yang Zhong
- School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Rd, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jun Wen
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, MRC-166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
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6
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Leavitt DH, Marion AB, Hollingsworth BD, Reeder TW. Multilocus phylogeny of alligator lizards ( Elgaria , Anguidae): Testing mtDNA introgression as the source of discordant molecular phylogenetic hypotheses. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2017; 110:104-121. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Yuan ZY, Zhou WW, Chen X, Poyarkov NA, Chen HM, Jang-Liaw NH, Chou WH, Matzke NJ, Iizuka K, Min MS, Kuzmin SL, Zhang YP, Cannatella DC, Hillis DM, Che J. Spatiotemporal Diversification of the True Frogs (GenusRana): A Historical Framework for a Widely Studied Group of Model Organisms. Syst Biol 2016; 65:824-42. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syw055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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8
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Koizumi Y, Ota H, Hikida T. Phylogeography of the Two Smooth Skinks, Scincella boettgeri and S. formosensis (Squamata: Scincidae) in the Southern Ryukyus and Taiwan, as Inferred from Variation in Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Sequences. Zoolog Sci 2014; 31:228-36. [DOI: 10.2108/zs130180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Koizumi
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Hidetoshi Ota
- Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Yayoigaoka 6, Sanada, Hyogo 669–1546, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Hikida
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, JAPAN
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9
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Ren Z, Zhong Y, Kurosu U, Aoki S, Ma E, von Dohlen CD, Wen J. Historical biogeography of Eastern Asian-Eastern North American disjunct Melaphidina aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Eriosomatinae) on Rhus hosts (Anacardiaceae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2013; 69:1146-58. [PMID: 23973894 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2013] [Revised: 07/24/2013] [Accepted: 08/06/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Intercontinental biotic disjunctions have been documented and analyzed in numerous Holarctic taxa. Patterns previously synthesized for animals compared to plants suggest that the timing of animal disjunctions are mostly Early Tertiary and were generated by migration and vicariance events occurring in the North Atlantic, while plant disjunctions are mostly Mid-Late Tertiary and imply migration and vicariance over Beringia. Melaphidina aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Fordini) exhibit host-alternating life cycles comprising an obligate seasonal shift between Rhus subgenus Rhus species (Anacardiaceae) and mosses (Bryophyta). Similar to their Rhus hosts, melaphidines are distributed disjunctly between Eastern Asia and Eastern North America. We examined evolutionary relationships within Melaphidina to determine the position of the North American lineage, date its divergence from Asian relatives, and compare these results to a previous historical biogeographic study of Rhus. We sampled nine species and three subspecies representing all six genera of Melaphidina. Data included sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II+leucine tRNA, cytochrome b, and nuclear elongation factor 1α genes. Phylogenetic analyses (Bayesian, maximum-likelihood, parsimony) of the combined data (3282 bp) supported the monophyly of all genera except Nurudea and Schlechtendalia, due to the position of N. ibofushi. While the exact position of the North American Melaphis was not well resolved, there was high support for a derived position within Asian taxa. The divergence of Melaphis from Asian relatives centered on the Eocene-Oligocene boundary (~33-35Ma), which coincides with closure of Beringian Land Bridge I. This also corresponded to the Asian-North American disjunction previously estimated for subgenus Rhus spp. We suggest the late-Eocene Bering Land Bridge as the most likely migration route for Melaphis ancestors, as was also hypothesized for North American Rhus ancestors. Results for the Melaphidina disjunction depart from the modal pattern in animal lineages, and present a case where insect and host-plant taxa apparently responded similarly to Tertiary climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhumei Ren
- School of Life Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Rd., Taiyuan Shanxi 030006, China.
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10
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JACKSON NATHAND, AUSTIN CHRISTOPHERC. Inferring the evolutionary history of divergence despite gene flow in a lizard species, Scincella lateralis (Scincidae), composed of cryptic lineages. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01929.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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11
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BRANDLEY MATTHEWC, OTA HIDETOSHI, HIKIDA TSUTOMU, NIETO MONTES DE OCA ADRIÁN, FERÍA-ORTÍZ MANUEL, GUO XIANGUANG, WANG YUEZHAO. The phylogenetic systematics of blue-tailed skinks (Plestiodon) and the family Scincidae. Zool J Linn Soc 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00801.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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12
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Bain RH, Hurley MM. A Biogeographic Synthesis of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Indochina. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2011. [DOI: 10.1206/360.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Townsend TM, Leavitt DH, Reeder TW. Intercontinental dispersal by a microendemic burrowing reptile (Dibamidae). Proc Biol Sci 2011; 278:2568-74. [PMID: 21270029 PMCID: PMC3136834 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2010] [Accepted: 12/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Intercontinental dispersal via land bridge connections has been important in the biogeographic history of many Holarctic plant and animal groups. Likewise, some groups appear to have accomplished trans-oceanic dispersal via rafting. Dibamid lizards are a clade of poorly known fossorial, essentially limbless species traditionally split into two geographically disjunct genera: Dibamus comprises approximately 20 Southeast Asian species, many of which have very limited geographical distributions, and the monotypic genus Anelytropsis occupies a small area of northeastern Mexico. Although no formal phylogeny of the group exists, a sister-taxon relationship between the two genera has been assumed based on biogeographic considerations. We used DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and six nuclear protein-coding genes to construct a phylogeny of Dibamidae and to estimate divergence times within the group. Surprisingly, sampled Dibamus species form two deeply divergent, morphologically conserved and geographically concordant clades, one of which is the sister taxon of Anelytropsis papillosus. Our analyses indicate Palaearctic to Nearctic Beringian dispersal in the Late Palaeocene to Eocene. Alternatively, a trans-Pacific rafting scenario would extend the upper limit on dispersal to the Late Cretaceous. Either scenario constitutes a remarkable long-distance dispersal in what would seem an unlikely candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted M Townsend
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA.
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14
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Noonan BP, Sites JW. Tracing the origins of iguanid lizards and boine snakes of the pacific. Am Nat 2010; 175:61-72. [PMID: 19929634 DOI: 10.1086/648607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
In 1947, when Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki hit ground in the Tuamotu archipelago, 102 days and approximately 4,000 km from its point of origin in South America, he inadvertently provided support for one of the most remarkable hypotheses of vertebrate dispersal. Iguanid lizards and boine snakes are ancient Gondwanan lineages whose distribution has been demonstrated to have been influenced by continental drift. Their enigmatic presence on the islands of the Pacific, however, has drawn fantastical conclusions of more than 8,000-km rafting from the Americas. We reexamine the hypothesis of dispersal in light of new molecular data and divergence time estimates. Our results suggest an early Paleogene (50-60 million years) divergence of these groups and the plausibility of an Asiatic or Australian (over land) source. Because the subfossil record indicates that iguanas (but not snakes) were a primary food source of island inhabitants, the absence of these species from islands with a longer history of human presence is unsurprising. Together these findings are taken as evidence of the influence humans have had on these taxa and are put forth as an example of anthropogenic obfuscation of biogeographic history. We suggest that this history is one of terrestrial connections permitting the colonization of the islands of the Pacific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice P Noonan
- Department of Biology, Box 1848, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA.
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Wang B, Jiang J, Xie F, Chen X, Dubois A, Liang G, Wagner S. Molecular phylogeny and genetic identification of populations of two species of Feirana frogs (Amphibia: Anura, Ranidae, Dicroglossinae, Paini) endemic to China. Zoolog Sci 2009; 26:500-9. [PMID: 19663646 DOI: 10.2108/zsj.26.500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Using mitochondrial 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and ND2 sequences, we investigated phylogenetic relationships among populations of two frog species endemic to China, both referred to the genus Feirana. A sister-group relationship between the two species was supported moderately in a maximum likelihood analysis and significantly in a Bayesian analysis, but not in a maximum parsimony analysis, of combined data for the three genes. Pending resolution of this incongruence, we provisionally maintain these species in the genus Feirana. Two major clades with a deep divergence are concordant with the species F. quadranus and "F." taihangnica. In the present work, some populations from the Qinling Mountains and all those from the Funiu and the Zhongtiao-southern Taihang Mountains are referred to "F." taihangnica rather than F. quadranus, whereas others are referred to F. quadranus. Consequently, the main body of the Qinling Mountains was identified as a large contact zone between these two species. On the basis of phylogenetic relationships and the distribution pattern of populations, we propose a hypothesis for the divergence of "F." taihangnica: the ancestral species might have inhabited the westernmost Qinling Mountains and dispersed to the main Qinling Mountains, and then to the Zhongtiao-southern Taihang and Funiu Mountains. In contrast, two alternative hypotheses are suggested for F. quadranus: if the two species are confirmed as sister groups, F. quadranus might have dispersed from the westernmost Qinling to the Longmen, Qinling, Daba, and northern Wuling Mountains; alternatively, F. quadranus might have come from the northern Wuling Mountains and then dispersed to the Daba, Qinling, and Longmen mountains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Wang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
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Burbrink FT, Pyron RA. HOW DOES ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY INFLUENCE RATES OF SPECIATION, EXTINCTION, AND MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSIFICATION IN NEW WORLD RATSNAKES (TRIBE LAMPROPELTINI)? Evolution 2009; 64:934-43. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00888.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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17
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Evidence for genetic association between East Asian and western North American Crataegus L. (Rosaceae) and rapid divergence of the eastern North American lineages based on multiple DNA sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2009; 51:157-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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18
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Che J, Pang J, Zhao H, Wu GF, Zhao EM, Zhang YP. Phylogeny of Raninae (Anura: Ranidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2007; 43:1-13. [PMID: 17300963 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.11.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2006] [Revised: 11/22/2006] [Accepted: 11/22/2006] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Phylogenetic relationships among representative species of the subfamily Raninae were investigated using approximately 2000 base pairs of DNA sequences from two mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA) and two nuclear (tyrosinase, rhodopsin) genes. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum parsimony, Bayesian, and maximum likelihood analyses. Comparison between the nuclear and mitochondrial findings suggested that our final combined data has higher resolving power than the separate data sets. The tribes Stauroini and Ranini formed a sistergroup relationship, and within Ranini, ten major clades were consistently resolved among all analyses based on the final combined data, although the phylogenetic relationships among the ten clades were not well resolved. Our result refuted several previous taxonomic divisions: the genus Pseudoamolops was invalid, and the monophyly of the genera Amolops and Rana were not supported. We suggest elevating Raninae to familial status, and recognizing within the family, at least twelve genera including Staurois, Meristogenys, Clinotarsus, Amolops, Hylarana, Babina, Odorrana, Pseudorana, Rana, Lithobates, Glandirana, and Pelophylax. A broader sampling of species and data from more molecular markers are needed to confidently resolve the phylogenetic relationships among Ranidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Che
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
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