Phylogeny and cryptic diversification in Southeast Asian flying geckos

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Herpetology
• Molecular phylogenetics

Background:

• Southeast Asian closed-canopy forests host diverse vertebrates with adaptations for aerial descent.
• Gliding geckos, especially the genus Ptychozoon, exhibit extreme morphological specializations for gliding and parachuting.
• Previous research has not conducted species-level molecular phylogenetic analyses on the Ptychozoon genus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the evolutionary relationships within the Ptychozoon genus of gliding geckos using molecular data.
• To investigate the potential for cryptic evolutionary lineages within the widely distributed and morphologically variable Ptychozoon kuhli.

Main Methods:

• Utilized molecular sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments.
• Employed model-based phylogenetic methods to reconstruct evolutionary history.
• Conducted phylogeographic/population genetic sampling, phylogenetic network analyses, and Bayesian species delimitation for Ptychozoon kuhli.

Main Results:

• The study provides the first molecular phylogenetic analysis for the Ptychozoon genus.
• Results indicate that Ptychozoon kuhli may represent between five and nine distinct, unrecognized species.
• Lineage diversity within Ptychozoon is likely significantly underestimated based on current taxonomy.

Conclusions:

• The Ptychozoon genus harbors greater species diversity than previously documented.
• Ptychozoon kuhli, in particular, shows evidence of multiple cryptic lineages warranting further taxonomic investigation.
• This research highlights the importance of molecular data in uncovering hidden biodiversity in gliding geckos.