Aim To determine the geographical boundaries among cryptic lineages and examine the evolutionary drivers of cladogenesis within the Cape legless skink, Acontias meleagris species complex.Location Coastal plains and adjacent interior of the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.Methods A total of 231 specimens from 55 localities were collected from the entire known distribution range of the A. meleagris complex. Partial sequence data were collected from two mitochondrial DNA loci, 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), and one protein-coding nuclear DNA locus, exophilin 5 (EXPH5). Phylogenetic, phylogeographical and population genetic analyses, together with divergence time estimation, were conducted on the DNA sequence data to examine evolutionary history and diversification within the species complex.Results Marked genetic structure was observed within the A. meleagris complex, and five clades were retrieved, most of which were statistically well supported. These five clades were also evident within the haplotypic analyses and were characterized by demographic stability. Cladogenesis was induced during the Pliocene/Pleistocene epochs, most likely as a result of oscillations in climate and sea level, and Neogene geomorphic phenomena. The Breede River Valley is an area of high genetic diversity and is likely to have served as a refugium.Main conclusions Lineage diversification and the current biogeographical patterning reflect the impact of sea level oscillations on historical coastal habitat availability. Fine-scale differences between co-distributed subterranean and supraterranean herpetofaunal taxa can be attributed to differences in life-history traits amongst different habitat types. Historical evolutionary drivers within this subterranean species complex are inferred and discussed.

We carried out a survey of reptiles and amphibians within Afromontane forest and woodland slopes of three inselbergs in northern Mozambique (Mount Mabu, Mount Namuli, and Mount Ribáuè). A total of 56 species (22 amphibians and 34 reptiles) were recorded during the current survey. Our findings substantially increase the number of herpetofaunal species recorded from these mountains (Mount Ribáuè 59%, Mount Mabu 37%, and Mount Namuli 11% of the total species), including one new country record and several putative new species. An updated checklist of the herpetofauna of these mountains is presented.

The African colubrid snake genus Crotaphopeltis currently comprises six species and occurs throughout sub‐Saharan Africa. The most widespread of these, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, inhabits most biomes, aside from rainforest and hyper‐arid regions, and its catholic niche has presumably facilitated substantial gene flow. Despite this, the geographical range is large enough that ecological or physical barriers might exist, facilitating allopatric diversification. In contrast, most of the other species are habitat specialists with limited distributions (e.g., Crotaphopeltis tornieri) and would be expected to show strong genetic structure. We therefore examined species boundaries within Crotaphopeltis in a phylogenetic context using five markers (16S, cyt b, ND4, c‐mos, and RAG‐1) for four of the six species. Species delimitation methods included two coalescent‐based and one barcoding approach. Widespread geographical sampling of C. hotamboeia allowed examination of genetic structuring across its range. The species status of Crotaphopeltis barotseensis, C. degeni, and C. hotamboeia was confirmed, whereas the Afromontane species C. tornieri comprised two candidate species. Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia did not show cryptic speciation, although its phylogeographic structure corresponded with the spatiotemporal pattern of the African savanna. Our results show how the heterogeneous African environment could influence genetic partitioning of habitat specialist and generalist species at broad geographical scales.

No abstract