Phylogenomics of the Mesoamerican alligator-lizard genera Abronia and Mesaspis (Anguidae: Gerrhonotinae) reveals multiple independent clades of arboreal and terrestrial species

Gutiérrez‐Rodríguez, Jorge; Zaldívar‐Riverón, Alejandro; Solano‐Zavaleta, Israel; Campbell, Jonathan A.; Meza-Lázaro, Rubí N.; Flores‐Villela, Oscar; de, Adrián Nieto‐Montes

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106963

Cited by 20 publications

(60 citation statements)

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“…The complex tectonic background of Guatemala, with multiple events of fragmentation and isolation overall its geological history, has been reported as a plausible promotor of species divergence for the isolated cloud forests in the mountain ridges of Nuclear Central America region (Castoe et al 2009, Ornelas et al 2013. This has produced disjunct distributions of several taxa such as passalid beetles Proculus (Schuster et al 2003) and Ogyges ), Cryptotriton salamanders (Vásquez-Almazán et al 2009, Rovito et al 2015, Abronia lizards (Campbell & Frost 1993, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al 2021, Bothriechis pit vipers (Mason et al 2019) and shrews (Woodman et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In nuclear Central America, of which Guatemala is a part, the high elevations of cloud forests separated by xeric lowlands created biogeographical barriers that promoted allopatric speciation (Castoe et al 2009;Ornelas et al 2013;Cano et al 2018). These resulted in high endemism of multiple taxa (Schuster et al 2003;Campbell et al 2010;Woodman et al 2012;Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al 2021). Guatemala is a region with a high richness of salamander species and genera, and new species continue to be described (Vásquez-Almazán et al 2009;Campbell et al 2010;Rovito et al 2010;Brodie et al 2012;Vásquez-Almazán & Rovito 2014;Rovito et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new species of Bolitoglossa (Caudata: Plethodontidae) of the Bolitoglossa franklini group from an isolated cloud forest in northern Guatemala

Dahinten-Bailey

Serrano

Alonso-Ascencio

et al. 2021

Zootaxa

823

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We describe Bolitoglossa qeqom sp. nov. from an isolated cloud forest in Cerro Guachmalén, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, based on multiple lines of evidence (morphological, molecular, and biogeographic data). This region comprises a mountain ridge without previous herpetological surveys. The new species is a large salamander with uniform purplish-black coloration and is distinguished by having relatively long legs with only one costal groove between adpressed limbs, numerous maxillary teeth, few vomerine teeth, only one phalange free of webbing in digit III of feet, and a relatively short tail. It is geographically closest to its sister clade of B. lincolni + B. franklini and the xeric Chixoy river canyon appears to be the major biogeographic barrier that isolated the new taxon. The cloud forest inhabited by this species has undergone severe habitat destruction in the region and land conservation actions are urgent.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new species of Bolitoglossa (Caudata: Plethodontidae) of the Bolitoglossa franklini group from an isolated cloud forest in northern Guatemala

Dahinten-Bailey

Serrano

Alonso-Ascencio

et al. 2021

Zootaxa

823

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“…All specimens of G. infernalis included in our study are from Texas. The genus Mesaspis was recently found to be paraphyletic with respect to Abronia , and it was suggested that species previously placed in Mesaspis should now be placed in Abronia ( Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al, 2021 ). We follow the suggestion of Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al (2021) .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in the skulls of Elgaria and Gerrhonotus (Anguidae, Gerrhonotinae) and implications for phylogenetics and fossil identification

Ledesma

Scarpetta

Bell

2021

PeerJ

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Background There are limited data on intra- and interspecific osteological variation for many squamate clades. Those data are relevant for phylogenetic analyses that use osteological characters and for apomorphic identifications of fossils. We investigate whether morphological features in the skulls of extant gerrhonotine lizards can be used to distinguish taxa at the species- and genus-level and assess whether newly discovered intra- and interspecific osteological variation alters the utility of previously reported apomorphic features. We examined skulls of species belonging to the gerrhonotine genera Elgaria and Gerrhonotus. These genera contain 17 extant species, but the cranial osteology of only a few species was previously examined. As a result, intra- and interspecific osteological variation of these gerrhonotines is poorly understood. Methods We employed high-resolution x-ray computed tomography (CT) to scan 25 alcohol-preserved specimens. We provide data on the skulls of all eight species of Elgaria, four for the first time, and five species of Gerrhonotus, three for the first time. We examined 3-D reconstructed skulls of the scanned specimens as well as dry, traditionally prepared skeletons (when they were available). Results We found that the purported diagnostic utility of many previously described morphological features is impacted because of substantial morphological variation between and within species. We present an assessment of osteological differences that may be useful to differentiate species of Elgaria and Gerrhonotus, many of which are present on isolated cranial elements commonly recovered as fossils, including the premaxilla, maxilla, parietal, pterygoid, prootic, dentary, and surangular. We demonstrate the importance of documenting patterns of osteological variation using large sample sizes, and the utility of examining disarticulated cranial elements of the squamate skull to identify diagnostic morphology. This study adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that extensive documentation of morphological variation is needed to further our understanding of the phylogenetic and diagnostic utility of morphological features across vertebrate clades. Efforts in that direction likely will benefit from examination of disarticulated skeletal elements.

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“…Gerrhonotines inhabit a wide range of habitats including cloud-forests, temperate pine-oak forests, grasslands, and desert refugia [7][8][9]. Some extant taxa are habitat generalists, including several species of Elgaria [6], but others exhibit specialized ecologies, including arboreal species of Abronia [8,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using automated binning, we discretized several continuous morphological features into discrete character states. We conducted phylogenetic analyses to identify the fossil, informed by our novel dataset, our past studies of variation in gerrhonotine lizards [13,14], and published molecular phylogenies [5,10,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new extinct species of alligator lizard (Squamata: Elgaria) and an expanded perspective on the osteology and phylogeny of Gerrhonotinae

2021

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Background Alligator lizards (Gerrhonotinae) are a well-known group of extant North American lizard. Although many fossils were previously referred to Gerrhonotinae, most of those fossils are isolated and fragmentary cranial elements that could not be placed in a precise phylogenetic context, and only a handful of known fossils are articulated skulls. The fossil record has provided limited information on the biogeography and phylogeny of Gerrhonotinae. Results We redescribe a nearly complete articulated fossil skull from the Pliocene sediments of the Anza-Borrego Desert in southern California, and refer the specimen to the alligator lizard genus Elgaria. The fossil is a representative of a newly described species, Elgaria peludoverde. We created a morphological matrix to assess the phylogeny of alligator lizards and facilitate identifications of fossil gerrhonotines. The matrix contains a considerably expanded taxonomic sample relative to previous morphological studies of gerrhonotines, and we sampled two specimens for many species to partially account for intraspecific variation. Specimen-based phylogenetic analyses of our dataset using Bayesian inference and parsimony inferred that Elgaria peludoverde is part of crown Elgaria. The new species is potentially related to the extant species Elgaria kingii and Elgaria paucicarinata, but that relationship was not strongly supported, probably because of extensive variation among Elgaria. We explored several alternative biogeographic scenarios implied by the geographic and temporal occurrence of the new species and its potential phylogenetic placements. Conclusions Elgaria peludoverde is the first described extinct species of Elgaria and provides new information on the biogeographic history and diversification of Elgaria. Our research expands the understanding of phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of alligator lizards and strengthens the foundation of future investigations. The osteological data and phylogenetic matrix that we provided will be critical for future efforts to place fossil gerrhonotines. Despite limited intraspecific sampled sizes, we encountered substantial variation among gerrhonotines, demonstrating the value of exploring patterns of variation for morphological phylogenetics and for the phylogenetic placement of fossils. Future osteological investigations on the species we examined and on species we did not examine will continue to augment our knowledge of patterns of variation in alligator lizards and aid in phylogenetics and fossil placement.

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Phylogenomics of the Mesoamerican alligator-lizard genera Abronia and Mesaspis (Anguidae: Gerrhonotinae) reveals multiple independent clades of arboreal and terrestrial species

Cited by 20 publications

References 47 publications

A new species of Bolitoglossa (Caudata: Plethodontidae) of the Bolitoglossa franklini group from an isolated cloud forest in northern Guatemala

A new species of Bolitoglossa (Caudata: Plethodontidae) of the Bolitoglossa franklini group from an isolated cloud forest in northern Guatemala

Variation in the skulls of Elgaria and Gerrhonotus (Anguidae, Gerrhonotinae) and implications for phylogenetics and fossil identification

A new extinct species of alligator lizard (Squamata: Elgaria) and an expanded perspective on the osteology and phylogeny of Gerrhonotinae

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