Biochemical and Morphological Differentiation in Spanish and Moroccan Populations of Blanus and the Description of a New Species from Northern Morocco (Reptilia, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae)

Busack, Stephen D.

doi:10.2307/1445928

Cited by 41 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…They explained the basal split within Discoglossus by the isolation of Corsica from continental Europe at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.33 MYA) or, alternatively, by the separation of the Corsica-Sardinia microplate from the continent (29 MYA). Furthermore, Busack (1986) suggested a Messinian (5.33 MYA) separation of Iberian and African Discoglossus, while Garcıa-Parıs and Jockusch (1999) explained the divergence of the two Iberian taxa Discoglossus galganoi and Discoglossus jeanneae by the reopening of the Betic sea strait (ca. 7 MYA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs

Fromhage

Vences

Veith

2004

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

113

102

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Dated molecular phylogenies are often used to interpret evolutionary history with respect to paleogeographic events. Where more than one interpretation is possible, it is desirable but difficult to assess the alternatives in an objective manner. The present work demonstrates a formalized method for testing molecular clock calibrations and biogeographic scenarios based on them. We assessed the plausibility of several previously published biogeographic hypotheses, using the frog genera Alytes, Discoglossus, and Bombina as model groups. Our data set comprised ca. 900 bp of partial mitochondrial 16S and 12S rRNA gene sequences (both genes evolved in a clock-like manner across genera) from nearly all the species and subspecies in the three genera. We tested several calibrations of a molecular clock, which resulted in competing temporal settings for the evolution of taxa. Although only one scenario was in complete accordance with paleogeographic data, statistical testing did not reject the alternatives. Limitations encountered with the present approach may be overcome by more comprehensive analyses in future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs

Fromhage

Vences

Veith

2004

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

113

102

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“…Moroccan populations are placed in two other species, B. mettetali and B. tingitanus (Busack, 1988). Blanus cinereus is a little known species (Salvador, 1981) and the scant data available on its ecology and biology were provided by Valverde (1967), Hiraldo (1974), Mellado et al (1975), Busack (1978) and Escarre and Vericad (1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field body temperatures of the amphisbaenid lizard Blanus cinereus

Martı́n¹,

López²,

Salvador³

1990

Amphib Reptilia

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Abstract. Body temperatures of Blanus cinereus recorded in the field in central Spainwere positively correlated with corresponding substrate and air temperatures. Mean body temperature was 1.2°C higher than corresponding mean substrate temperature. Mean body temperature varied with time of day. Presence under stones during daylight hours was bimodal and seasonal variation was observed in body temperature.

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“…These two species are morphologically and bioacoustically similar (Clarke and Lanza, 1990;Capula and Corti, 1993;Vences and Glaw, 1996;Clarke, 2007) but do not seem to be sister taxa (Pabijan et al, 2012), and show a moderate genetic differentiation. The third example is the contact zone between two main Iberian lineages, which are considered distinct species by some (e.g., Busack, 1986;García-París and Jockusch, 1999;Martinez-Solano, 2004;Real et al, 2005) and subspecies by others (Lanza et al, 1986;Vences and Glaw, 1996;Zangari, Cimmaruta and Nascetti, 2006;Speybroeck, Beukema and Crochet, 2010;Pabijan et al, 2012;Sillero et al, 2014). These two mitochondrial lineages clearly are sister to each other (Pabijan et al, 2012); they show no consistent divergence in the nuclear markers investigated so far, and only comparatively weak divergence in mtDNA (e.g., Zangari, Cimmaruta and Nascetti, 2006;Velo-Antón, Martínez-Solano and García-Paris, 2008;Pabijan et al, 2012;data herein).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights on phylogeography and distribution of painted frogs (Discoglossus) in northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

Vences

Pous²,

Nicolas

et al. 2014

Amphib Reptilia

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Abstract. Painted frogs (Discoglossus) contain five to six species of Western Palearctic anurans that are mainly distributed in allopatry. We here provide the first comprehensive assessment of the phylogeography of the Moroccan species D. scovazzi and geographically characterize its contact zone with D. pictus in Eastern Morocco. Discoglossus scovazzi shows, in general, a weak phylogeographic structure across Morocco on the basis of mitochondrial DNA sequences of the cytochrome b gene, with only populations centered in the Atlas Mountains characterized by the presence of slightly divergent haplotypes. In eastern Morocco, all populations east of the Moulouya River were clearly assignable to D. pictus. This species was also found along the Mediterranean coast west of the Moulouya, in the cities of Nador and Melilla, suggesting that not the river itself but the wide arid valley extending along much of the river (except close to the estuary) acts as a possible distributional barrier to these frogs. No sympatry of D. scovazzi with D. pictus was observed, and all specimens were concordantly assigned to either species by DNA sequences of cytochrome b and of the nuclear marker RAG1. Species distribution models of the two taxa show largely overlapping areas of suitable habitat, and the two species' niches are significantly more similar than would be expected given the underlying environmental differences between the regions in which they occur. Comparative data are also presented from the southern Iberian contact zone of D. galganoi galganoi and D. g. jeanneae. These taxa showed less clear-cut distributional borders, extensively shared RAG1 haplotypes, and had instances of sympatric occurrence on the basis of cytochrome b haplotypes, in agreement with the hypothesis of a yet incomplete speciation. In this wide contact zone area we found mitochondrial sequences containing double peaks in electropherograms, suggesting nuclear pseudogenes or (less likely) heteroplasmy, possibly related to the ongoing admixture among the lineages.

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Biochemical and Morphological Differentiation in Spanish and Moroccan Populations of Blanus and the Description of a New Species from Northern Morocco (Reptilia, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae)

Cited by 41 publications

References 7 publications

Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs

Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs

Field body temperatures of the amphisbaenid lizard Blanus cinereus

New insights on phylogeography and distribution of painted frogs (Discoglossus) in northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

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