Search

LAUDAKIA VULGARIS (SONNINI & LATREILLE, 1802) STAT. NOV. Included taxa: Laudakia s. picea (Parker, 1935), L. s. brachydactyla (Haas, 1951), L. s. vulgaris (Sonnini & Latreille, 1802), L. s. salehi (Werner, 2006) and the Jordan phylogenetic subclade. Type specimen: Agama stellio vulgaris (Sonnini & Latreille, 1802), FMNH 153134 (neotype) Crochet et al. (2006) (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA). Type locality: El Amiria, Alexandria, Lower Egypt, by present neotype designation. Distribution: All localities from Egypt, Jordan, Israel and south-western and western Syria (east to Palmyra). Remarks: According to the principle of priority of the ICZN (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature), this distinct genetic lineage was named vulgaris as that is the oldest available name. It includes the morphological subspecies of L. s. picea, L. s. brachydactyla, L. s. vulgaris and L. s. salehi, as well as a new phylogenetic subclade that corresponds to the Jordan populations from the eastern side of the Wadi–Araba valley, previously reported as an unnamed subspecies. The subspecific description of the latter is under preparation, but we have to note that the subspecific status of L. s. vulgaris and L. s. salehi is ambiguous and requires further investigation.

LAUDAKIA STELLIO (LINNAEUS, 1758) S.S. Included taxa: Laudakia s. stellio (Linnaeus, 1758), L. s. daani (Beutler & Frör, 1980) and the subclades from the western Taurus, Symi–Kaş, Anatolia, Lebanon and Hatay, as shown in this study (Figs 2, 4). Type specimen: Laudakia stellio stellio (Linnaeus, 1758), ZFMK 2063 (neotype), Crochet et al. (2006) (Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany). Type locality: Delos Island, Cyclades, Greece. Distribution: All localities from Greece (Cyclades, Crete, Thessaloniki, Corfu and East Aegean islands) and Turkey, north-western Syria and northern Lebanon. Remarks: According to the principle of priority of the ICZN, this distinct genetic lineage should be named stellio because that is the oldest available name. It includes already described morphological subspecies and other cryptic lineages of Clade 2, revealed by this study: the nominal L. s. stellio and its sister Anatolia subclade, L. s. daani and its sister W Taurus–Symi–Kaş subclades, as well as the Lebanon and Hatay subclades. The subspecific status of L. s. stellio and L. s. daani is retained, while the elevation of the Lebanon and Hatay lineages to the subspecies level is under preparation., Published as part of Karameta, Emmanouela, Lymberakis, Petros, Grillitsch, Heinz, Ilgaz, Çetin, Avci, Aziz, Kumlutaş, Yusuf, Candan, Kamil, Wagner, Philipp, Sfenthourakis, Spyros, Pafilis, Panayiotis & Poulakakis, Nikos, 2022, The story of a rock-star: multilocus phylogeny and species delimitation in the starred or roughtail rock agama, Laudakia stellio (Reptilia: Agamidae), pp. 195-219 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195 (1) on page 212, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab107, http://zenodo.org/record/6530771, {"references":["Beutler A, Fror E. 1980. Die Amphibien und Reptilien der Nordkykladen (Griechenland). Mitteilungen der Zoologischen Gesellschaft Braunau 3: 255 - 290.","Crochet PA, Lymberakis P, Werner YL. 2006. The type specimens of Laudakia stellio (Linnaeus) (Reptilia: Agamidae) and its subspecies. Journal of Natural History 40: 461 - 471."]}

TheMediterranean Basin has experienced extensive change in geology and climate over the past sixmillion years. Yet, the relative importance of key geological events for the distribution and genetic structure of the Mediterranean fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we use population genomic and phylogenomic analyses to establish the evolutionary history and genetic structure of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). This species is particularly informative because, in contrast to other Mediterranean lizards, it is widespread across the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas, and in extra-Mediterranean regions. We found strong support for six major lineages within P. muralis, which were largely discordant with the phylogenetic relationship of mitochondrial DNA. The most recent common ancestor of extant P. muralis was likely distributed in the Italian Peninsula, and experienced an “Out-of-Italy” expansion following the Messinian salinity crisis (similar to 5 Mya), resulting in the differentiation into the extant lineages on the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas. Introgression analysis revealed that both inter- and intraspecific gene flows have been pervasive throughout the evolutionary history of P. muralis. For example, the Southern Italy lineage has a hybrid origin, formed through admixture between the Central Italy lineage and an ancient lineage that was the sister to all other P. muralis. More recent genetic differentiation is associated with the onset of the Quaternary glaciations, which influenced population dynamics and genetic diversity of contemporary lineages. These results demonstrate the pervasive role of Mediterranean geology and climate for the evolutionary history and population genetic structure of extant species.

International audience; Abstract The Mediterranean Basin has experienced extensive change in geology and climate over the past six million years. Yet, the relative importance of key geological events for the distribution and genetic structure of the Mediterranean fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we use population genomic and phylogenomic analyses to establish the evolutionary history and genetic structure of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). This species is particularly informative because, in contrast to other Mediterranean lizards, it is widespread across the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas, and in extra-Mediterranean regions. We found strong support for six major lineages within P. muralis, which were largely discordant with the phylogenetic relationship of mitochondrial DNA. The most recent common ancestor of extant P. muralis was likely distributed in the Italian Peninsula, and experienced an “Out-of-Italy” expansion following the Messinian salinity crisis (∼5 Mya), resulting in the differentiation into the extant lineages on the Iberian, Italian and Balkan peninsulas. Introgression analysis revealed that both inter- and intraspecific gene flows have been pervasive throughout the evolutionary history of P. muralis. For example, the Southern Italy lineage has a hybrid origin, formed through admixture between the Central Italy lineage and an ancient lineage that was the sister to all other P. muralis. More recent genetic differentiation is associated with the onset of the Quaternary glaciations, which influenced population dynamics and genetic diversity of contemporary lineages. These results demonstrate the pervasive role of Mediterranean geology and climate for the evolutionary history and population genetic structure of extant species.

Over-water dispersal to small islets is an important eco-evolutionary process. Most often, new arrivals on islets find the environment harsh or mate-less, making their footholds on these islets fleeting. Occasionally, introduced animals are able to survive the strong selection following their arrival, leading to subsequent propagation and, in several famous cases, adaptive radiation. What traits predict that initial survival? We established a replicated island introduction experiment to investigate this process in lizards. In 2014, we introduced 20 Podarcis erhardii lizards to each of five small islets in the Greek Cyclades Islands. We found that the lizards that survived were those with better initial body condition, longer distal portions of their limbs and a greater propensity for jumping. Contrary to our expectations, neither body size nor the strength of the lizards' bite - two traits positively related to competitive ability, which becomes important later in the colonization process in lizards - predicted survival. This is the first selection study of its kind investigating an experimental introduction of Podarcis, and whether the traits that determined initial survival are important in driving the future evolutionary trajectories of these populations remains to be determined.