A preliminary assessment of the Nactus pelagicus species group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in New Guinea and a new species from the Admiralty Islands

Zug, George R.; Fisher, Robert N.

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3257.1.2

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…nov. New Ireland), and a third species representing all other populations (E. schauinslandi). This latter lineage includes the population from the Admiralty Islands, which, as this island group is also part of the Bismarck Archipelago, presents an intriguing result in terms of biogeography (consistent with findings for the gecko Nactus pelagicus, Zug & Fisher, 2012). All of the new lineages proposed here, with descriptions of corollary distinguishing morphological features, will be described in another paper (Klein et al, in prep).…”

Section: Coalescent Species Delimitation and Taxonomic Conclusionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…The similar timing for these initial radiations of E. impar and E. cyanura could be due to the relative stability of the Pacific region since the early to mid-Pliocene; most island groups throughout central and eastern Pacific have been emergent or geologically stable since at least this era (Hall, 2002;Neall & Trewick, 2008). Human movements, from early settlers of the Polynesian region to American and Japanese troops during World War II, most likely have played a key role in producing the current extant ranges of E. impar and E. cyanura (as found for other Pacific squamates; Austin et al, 2011;Zug & Fisher, 2012;Tonione et al, 2015), and have further contributed to the low degree of variability observed between most of the sampled populations.…”

Section: Rapid Radiation: Human-mediated or Natural?mentioning

confidence: 91%

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Biogeographical history and coalescent species delimitation of Pacific island skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia cyanura species group)

Klein

Harris

Fisher

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim A prevailing hypothesis for how Pacific islands organisms have obtained their extant distributions is that of a stepping-stone model, in which populations originate from Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific and gradually disperse eastward. Here, we test this model using a spatiotemporal framework for Emoia cyanura and E. impar, two species within the Emoia cyanura species group (ECSG; Family: Scincidae). We further assess species limits within the group, utilizing novel coalescent methods. Location Pacific Islands.Methods We obtained DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and three nuclear markers for 117 individuals, representing seven of the nine species within the ECSG. These data were analysed for concordance with the steppingstone model using estimation of population structure, divergence dates, and historical biogeographical range. To assess hypotheses of independent lineages within each widespread species, we also employed the Bayesian Phylogenetics & Phylogeography (BPP) program to define operational taxonomic units in *BEAST.Results Population structure analyses consistently found individuals from western island groups representing divergent populations, with central and eastern populations demonstrating minimal genetic variation. Phylogenetic hypotheses support a western origin for E. cyanura and E. impar, while biogeographical and divergence time estimations predict a recent and rapid expansion out of the western Pacific. The BPP and *BEAST analyses found evidence for five independent lineages within E. impar and five independent lineages within E. cyanura/E. pseudocyanura. Main conclusionsIn contrast to the expectations of a stepping-stone model, E. cyanura and E. impar each exhibit the genetic signature of a rapid radiation during the mid to late Pleistocene, with evidence for newly identified lineages, mainly on western islands. Of these recovered lineages, we propose three to be elevated to species status. These findings expand our understanding of endemic Pacific biota, which are subject to conservation threats from human impacts and climate change.

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Section: Coalescent Species Delimitation and Taxonomic Conclusionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Rapid Radiation: Human-mediated or Natural?mentioning

confidence: 91%

Biogeographical history and coalescent species delimitation of Pacific island skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia cyanura species group)

Klein

Harris

Fisher

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Because no taxonomic studies had yet been performed, pelagicus was applied to all, and by default, this group of cryptically brown-colored Nactus became the pelagicus complex or species group. This usage persists even though we now know it is a polyphyletic group (Heinicke et al, 2010;Zug and Fisher, 2012). Herein, I use "Nactus pelagicus complex" for all Pacific area Nactus populations with a mean SVL ≥ 42 mm that possess longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles on the trunk.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A more recent molecular phylogenetic analysis (Zug and Fisher, 2012) with an even broader geographic sampling of the N. pelagicus group suggests a broader (more inclusive) pelagicus group that includes all dwarf species. Their mitochondrial DNA phylogram closely matches the one in Heinicke et al (2010).…”

Section: History Of Discoveries In Australo-pacific Nactusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity in Pacific Slender-Toed Geckos, Nactus pelagicus Complex (Reptilia: Squamata), of New Guinea and Adjacent Islands

Zug

2020

Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology

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The diversity within the genus Nactus is slight in comparison to the other Australasian genus of narrow-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus). The latter now has more than 290 species, with over half of these species newly described in the twenty-first century. In contrast, prior to this study, 12 Nactus species were recognized formally in the recent herpetological literature: three species in the Mascarene Islands, two in the Pacific Islands, three in Australia, and six in New Guinea and associated island groups. Three of these New Guinea species are miniature (snout–vent length ≤ 40 mm) species, and three are in the pelagicus complex; with the exception of the recently described N. kunan, all other New Guinean populations were labeled N. pelagicus even though they were known to be bisexual species and differed from the unisexual N. pelagicus of Oceania. Considering only bisexual New Guinean “pelagicus,” my morphological analyses recognize 24 distinct populations for which I provide new names or resurrected species names from synonymies. Of these 24, two species are extralimital (Morotai and Kei Islands). The sampling of Nactus in Indonesia Papua is very poor, with only one specimen from the base of the Vogelkop, two from south coast drainages, and more than a dozen from islands from the east coast of Cenderawasih Bay; the remainder derive from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The Indonesia Papua populations represent four species, two of which are shared with PNG. Papua New Guinea thus has a total of 20 species, varying from widespread species (e.g., north coast of main Papua to the Sepik-Ramu area) to a single locality in Madang or single islands in the Louisiade Archipelago. Most distributions of the PNG species match at least one other PNG anuran or reptile species. The greatest diversity of PNG species occurs in Madang Province to Huon Peninsula and the Milne Bay mainland with sympatry in both areas. The “pelagicus complex” of species is herein confirmed to be polyphyletic. In spite of its use in this study, its subsequent use should be restricted to the unisexual species and their parental species, of which only one (N. multicarinatus) is known. The preceding represents a subgroup within the larger clade of Australian and New Guinean bisexual species. For the present, I do not recommend a name for this group because a molecular phylogenetic analysis will be required to identify the cladogenesis of the Nactus species.

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Conservation of Biological Resources: Why Does It Matter?

Castro

Azul

Paiva

2016

Biodiversity and Education for Sustainable Development

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A preliminary assessment of the Nactus pelagicus species group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in New Guinea and a new species from the Admiralty Islands

Cited by 11 publications

References 11 publications

Biogeographical history and coalescent species delimitation of Pacific island skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia cyanura species group)

Biogeographical history and coalescent species delimitation of Pacific island skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia cyanura species group)

Diversity in Pacific Slender-Toed Geckos, Nactus pelagicus Complex (Reptilia: Squamata), of New Guinea and Adjacent Islands

Conservation of Biological Resources: Why Does It Matter?

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