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Related Experiment Videos

Xantusiid "night" lizards: a puzzling phylogenetic problem revisited using likelihood-based Bayesian methods on mtDNA

Saverio Vicario1, Adalgisa Caccone, Jacques Gauthier

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, USA.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|February 5, 2003
PubMed
Summary

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Night Lizard (Xantusiidae) evolution reveals they belong to Scincomorpha, not Gekkota. Island endemics arrived via dispersal, not vicariance, with the clade originating in the Tertiary period.

Area of Science:

  • Herpetology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Phylogenetics

Background:

  • The evolutionary relationships within the Night Lizard family (Xantusiidae) have been contentious.
  • Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding their phylogenetic placement and divergence times.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To resolve phylogenetic uncertainties in Xantusiidae using advanced molecular methods.
  • To determine the evolutionary history and biogeography of Night Lizards.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analyses using Maximum Likelihood-based Bayesian methods, Neighbor-Joining, and Maximum Parsimony.
  • Sequencing of mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S ribosomal RNA, and cytochrome b).
  • Fossil-calibrated divergence time estimation.

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Main Results:

  • Robust support for Xantusiidae being part of Scincomorpha, distinct from Gekkota.
  • Clarified relationships within the family: Lepidophyma sister to Xantusia, Xantusia riversiana embedded within Xantusia, and non-monophyly of rock-dwelling Xantusia.
  • Divergence time estimates place the Xantusiidae crown clade in the Tertiary, suggesting island endemics arrived via dispersal.

Conclusions:

  • Phylogenetic discordance may result from convergent evolution or physical constraints.
  • The Xantusiidae crown clade originated after the K-T boundary event.
  • Island colonization by Cricosaura typica and Xantusia riversiana occurred through dispersal events.