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Related Experiment Videos

Are crocodiles really monophyletic?--Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data.

L Rex McAliley1, Ray E Willis, David A Ray

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, P.O. Box 43131, Lubbock, TX 79409-313, USA. rexmcaliley@excite.com

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|February 24, 2006
PubMed
Summary

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The African slender-snouted crocodile, Crocodylus cataphractus, is distinct from Crocodylus and Osteolaemus. Molecular and morphological data support its placement in the resurrected genus Mecistops.

Area of Science:

  • Herpetology
  • Molecular Systematics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • The phylogenetic position of the African slender-snouted crocodile (Crocodylus cataphractus) has been debated.
  • Morphological studies traditionally placed it within Crocodylus, but molecular data suggested significant divergence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To clarify the phylogenetic placement of Crocodylus cataphractus.
  • To determine the relationship of C. cataphractus to its congeneric species using molecular and morphological evidence.

Main Methods:

  • Sequencing of two nuclear genes (C-mos, ODC) and two mitochondrial genes (ND6-tRNA(glu)-cytB, control region).
  • Phylogenetic analyses of individual and concatenated molecular datasets.
  • Examination of 165 morphological characters.

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Main Results:

  • Molecular analyses consistently indicated that C. cataphractus is not a member of the genus Crocodylus or Osteolaemus.
  • Morphological character analysis corroborated the molecular findings.

Conclusions:

  • Crocodylus cataphractus is phylogenetically distinct from Crocodylus and Osteolaemus.
  • The resurrection of the historic genus Mecistops (Gray 1844) is supported for C. cataphractus based on combined evidence.