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Type: Article
Published: 2009-03-04
Page range: 28–42
Abstract views: 40
PDF downloaded: 2

Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy of leaf-toed geckos (Phyllodactylidae: Phyllodactylus) inhabiting the peninsula of Baja California

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
Laboratorio de Herpetologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-153. C.P. 04510, México
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6, Canada
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6, Canada
Reptilia biogeography cryptic species Gekkota phylogeny speciation

Abstract

Herein we assess the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of geckos of the genus Phyllodactylus inhabiting the peninsula of Baja California, Mexico using five mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) recovered three distinct peninsular clades with high statistical support. Sequence divergence estimates between peninsular taxa approached 13%. Two of the species, P. unctus and P. xanti are Cape Region endemics, whereas P. nocticolus is widespread throughout much of the peninsula and extreme southern California. Monophyly of the peninsular taxa was strongly supported. In the MP analysis, P. unctus rooted at the base of the peninsular clade, resolving P. xanti and P. nocticolus as sister taxa. Conversely, BI placed P. nocticolus and P. unctus as sister taxa. These data provide further evidence for a trans-peninsular seaway near the Isthmus of La Paz, severing the Cape Region from the rest of the peninsula. The analysis also supports the validity of P. nocticolus as a distinct species and suggests a single invasion to the peninsula from mainland Mexico, presumably during tectonic activity during the Miocene.

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