Taxonomic assessment of Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) dragon lizards from the western arid zone of Australia

Doughty, Paul; Kealley, Luke; Melville, Jane

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3518.1.1

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Type specimens of species that have, since their description, been synonymised and/or resurrected from synonymy with other taxa, or those with type material donated to the WAM since their description are also included. This catalogue was prepared in accordance with the rules, recommendations, definitions and amendments of the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999, 2003, 2012.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum

Ellis¹

2019

Rec West Aust Mus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Western Australian Museum holds a vast collection of specimens representing a large portion of the 106 currently recognised taxa of dragon lizards (family Agamidae) known to occur across Australia. While the museum's collection is dominated by Western Australian species, it also contains a selection of specimens from localities in other Australian states and a small selection from outside of Australia. Currently the museum's collection contains 18,914 agamid specimens representing 89 of the 106 currently recognised taxa from across Australia and 27 from outside of Australia. This includes 824 type specimens representing 45 currently recognised taxa and three synonymised taxa, comprising 43 holotypes, three syntypes and 779 paratypes. Of the paratypes, a total of 43 specimens have been gifted to other collections, disposed or could not be located and are considered lost. An annotated catalogue is provided for all agamid type material currently and previously maintained in the herpetological collection of the Western Australian Museum.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Doughty, P., Kealley, L. and Melville, J. (2012) Taxonomic assessment of Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) dragon lizards from the western arid zone of Australia.…”

Section: Diporiphora Adductus Doughty Kealley and Melville 2012mentioning

confidence: 99%

An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum

Ellis¹

2019

Rec West Aust Mus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To date, reptile taxa sampled widely across the arid zone include skinks (Chapple et al., 2004; Rabosky et al., 2009, 2014), dragons (Doughty et al., 2012; Melville et al., 2016, 2019; Shoo et al., 2008), blindsnakes (Marin, Donnellan, Hedges, Puillandre, et al., 2013) and geckos (Eastwood, Doughty, Hutchinson & Pepper, 2020; Fujita et al., 2010; Oliver et al., 2014; Oliver, Smith, et al., 2014; Pepper et al., 2011; Pepper, Ho, et al., 2011; Sistrom et al., 2013; Duckett & Stow, 2013). Notwithstanding the significant collecting effort behind these and other studies, sampling across some of the major sand deserts (e.g., the Great Sandy Desert) is conspicuously absent.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Arid Zone Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Life in the “dead heart” of Australia: The geohistory of the Australian deserts and its impact on genetic diversity of arid zone lizards

Pepper

Keogh

2021

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim The Australian deserts are home to a remarkable diversity of taxa that might appear to have evolved in the absence of topographic and physical barriers to dispersal. In fact this is a biogeographical illusion, as the dunefields of the modern arid zone obscure the fossil landscapes of the wet desert that existed for much of the Cenozoic. As the geohistory of Australia's arid zone is not widely understood by biologists, we review its geological development and contemporary landscapes in an accessible way, and describe eight biogeographical hypotheses centred on how geomorphology, evolutionary history and contemporary ecological factors interact to shape diversification patterns in the desert lowlands. Location Australia. Taxon Lizards. Methods We review the arid zone landscapes before and after the development of the vast dunefields. As lizards represent a significant component of genetic studies that sample widely across the arid biome, we focus on this taxonomic group to establish emerging patterns. Results Recent geological work suggests that the dunefields never formed extensive mobile landscapes such as in the Sahara, but rather were a mosaic of vegetated and stable dune surfaces with scattered bare, mobile patches. Large fluvial systems in the eastern arid zone during the Pleistocene also are at odds with the general perception of an arid landscape during this time. Incorporating this geohistorical insight, understanding where landscape heterogeneity is greatest within the arid zone, and where relative homogeneity might facilitate connectivity and gene flow, are at the heart of our biogeographic hypotheses. Main conclusions Patterns are emerging that reflect the underlying influence of geomorphological processes on the genetic structure of Australian desert taxa. Quantifying finer‐scale edaphic complexity across the arid zone, widespread genetic sampling from disparate taxonomic groups, and a more detailed understanding of species ecology and life history will greatly improve our understanding of the ecological and historical drivers of diversity gradients in the Australian deserts.

show abstract

“…This species is only known from the type specimen, which was collected from Crystal Creek in the northern tip of the Kimberley (Storr, 1974) and has not been collected again. Taxonomic treatments of D. nobbi (Witten), D. phaeospinosa Edwards and Melville or D. pindan Storr are also not provided because they have been recently treated elsewhere (Doughty et al, 2012a;Edwards and Melville, 2011).…”

Section: Specimens Examined and External Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The arid zone species group is widely distributed across arid WA (Couper et al, 2012;Doughty et al, 2012a), with highest species diversity in the Pilbara region but extending north to the southern Kimberley (D. pindan) and east into the arid interior (D. paraconvergens), crossing into South Australia and the NT. However, D. pallida sp.…”

Section: Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic revision of dragon lizards in the genus Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) from the Australian monsoonal tropics

Melville

Date

Horner³

et al. 2019

Mem. Mus. Vic.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Australian dragon lizard genus Diporiphora currently comprises 21 species based on genetic and morphological evidence, with 11 of these species occurring in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia. Diporiphora are climbing lizards that are found on either trees, grasses or rocks, with usually only subtle morphological differences to distinguish between species. Since the last taxonomic treatment of this genus in northern Australia over 40 years ago, species delimitation using genetic techniques has clarified the number of lineages and increased collections from recent surveys have significantly broadened the distributions of these taxa. However, no formal taxonomic assessments have been undertaken to redefine species, including the many lineages that represent undescribed species. Currently, there are seven species of Diporiphora with vast distributions across northern Australia and a broad and variable set of morphological characteristics that make species identification challenging, even for experienced field workers. Here, we provide a comprehensive taxonomic treatment of Diporiphora species across northern Australia based on previously published genetic data and morphological examination of voucher specimens. Our analyses demonstrate that these broadly distributed taxa actually comprise multiple, often allopatric, species, with especially high diversity in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. We redescribe nine previously described species and describe five new species of Diporiphora based on historical types, newly collected material and older museum vouchers. In the D. australis species group, we resurrect D. jugularis Macleay from synonomy. In the D. bennettii species group, we synonomise D. arnhemica Storr with D. albilabris Storr, and raise to full species the latter and D. sobria Storr. In addition, we describe as new a wide-ranging saxicoline species previously attributed to D. bennettii Gray. In the D. bilineata species group, we resurrect D. margaretae Storr from synonomy with D. magna Storr and describe three new species. Lastly, we describe a species from the northwest Kimberley that is more closely related to an arid zone radiation. The revision of the northern Diporiphora dragons here stabilises the taxonomy, redefines many species distributions and reveals many new species. Further work on Diporiphora includes further surveys to better understand distributions and habitat preferences and continue to refine their evolutionary history and biogeography in northern Australia.

show abstract

Taxonomic assessment of Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) dragon lizards from the western arid zone of Australia

Cited by 12 publications

References 15 publications

An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum

An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum

Life in the “dead heart” of Australia: The geohistory of the Australian deserts and its impact on genetic diversity of arid zone lizards

Taxonomic revision of dragon lizards in the genus Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) from the Australian monsoonal tropics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About