scholarly journals Extensive introgression and mosaic genomes of Mediterranean endemic lizards

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhao Yang ◽  
Nathalie Feiner ◽  
Catarina Pinho ◽  
Geoffrey M. While ◽  
Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
The Past ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of biodiversity, fuelled by climatic oscillation and geological change over the past 20 million years. Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis are among the most abundant, diverse, and conspicuous Mediterranean fauna. Here, we unravel the remarkably entangled evolutionary history of wall lizards by sequencing genomes of 34 major lineages covering 26 species. We demonstrate an early (>11 MYA) separation into two clades centred on the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, and two clades of Mediterranean island endemics. Diversification within these clades was pronounced between 6.5–4.0 MYA, a period spanning the Messinian Salinity Crisis, during which the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up before rapidly refilling. However, genetic exchange between lineages has been a pervasive feature throughout the entire history of wall lizards. This has resulted in a highly reticulated pattern of evolution across the group, characterised by mosaic genomes with major contributions from two or more parental taxa. These hybrid lineages gave rise to several of the extant species that are endemic to Mediterranean islands. The mosaic genomes of island endemics may have promoted their extraordinary adaptability and striking diversity in body size, shape and colouration, which have puzzled biologists for centuries.

scholarly journals Population genomics of wall lizards reflects the dynamic history of the Mediterranean Basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhao Yang ◽  
Nathalie Feiner ◽  
Daniele Salvi ◽  
Hanna Laakkonen ◽  
Daniel Jablonski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Hybrid Origin ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean Basin has experienced extensive change in geology and climate over the past six million years. Yet, the relative importance of key geological events for the distribution and genetic structure of the Mediterranean fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we use population genomic and phylogenomic analyses to establish the evolutionary history and genetic structure of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). This species is particularly informative because, in contrast to other Mediterranean lizards, it is widespread across the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas, and in extra-Mediterranean regions. We found strong support for six major lineages within P. muralis, which were largely discordant with the phylogenetic relationship of mitochondrial DNA. The most recent common ancestor of extant P. muralis was likely distributed in the Italian Peninsula, and experienced an Out-of-Italy expansion following the Messinian salinity crisis (~5 Mya), resulting in the differentiation into the extant lineages on the Iberian, Italian and Balkan peninsulas. Introgression analysis revealed that both inter- and intraspecific gene flow have been pervasive throughout the evolutionary history of P. muralis. For example, the Southern Italy lineage has a hybrid origin, formed through admixture between the Central Italy lineage and an ancient lineage that was the sister to all other P. muralis. More recent genetic differentiation is associated with the onset of the Quaternary glaciations, which influenced population dynamics and genetic diversity of contemporary lineages. These results demonstrate the pervasive role of Mediterranean geology and climate for the evolutionary history and population genetic structure of extant species.

scholarly journals Evolutionary history of the European free‐tailed bat, a tropical affinity species spanning across the Mediterranean Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 499-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Amorim ◽  
Orly Razgour ◽  
Vanessa A. Mata ◽  
Susana Lopes ◽  
Raquel Godinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Hybridizing the Myth, Allegorizing Algeria

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwige Tamalet Talbayev
Keyword(s):  
Nation Building ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
National Myth ◽  
The Core ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean

This chapter teases out the ways in which Kateb Yacine’s Nedjma resists the cohesive power of the Algerian myth of origins elaborated around the time of independence to reveal a Mediterranean transnationalism. The chapter starts by interrogating the conflicted history of the colonial concept of Mediterranean hybridity as both cultural syncretism and biological assimilation from the 1890s to the late colonial period. It then examines exile and the predominance of subjective estrangement in Kateb’s writing. In light of virtually unknown fragments cut out of Nedjma, it shows that the quest for Algeria’s identity cannot be completed without spatial deployment in the Mediterranean island of Djerba. Djerba supplies a model of felicitous mixing between strata of Mediterranean migrations, providing late colonial Algeria with a mythical space where to hone the very workings of its nation-building aspirations in a plural context evocative of Algeria’s own diversity. Kateb’s text reveals a Mediterranean ethos at the core of Algeria’s founding narrative, performing what writer Nabile Farès later dubbed the “re-allegorization of national myth” in a Mediterranean mode.

scholarly journals Early diversification and permeable species boundaries in the Mediterranean firs

2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Balao ◽  
María Teresa Lorenzo ◽  
José Manuel Sánchez-Robles ◽  
Ovidiu Paun ◽  
Juan Luis García-Castaño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Independent Species

Abstract Background and Aims Inferring the evolutionary relationships of species and their boundaries is critical in order to understand patterns of diversification and their historical drivers. Despite Abies (Pinaceae) being the second most diverse group of conifers, the evolutionary history of Circum-Mediterranean firs (CMFs) remains under debate. Methods We used restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) on all proposed CMF taxa to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic status. Key Results Based on thousands of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we present here the first formal test of species delimitation, and the first fully resolved, complete species tree for CMFs. We discovered that all previously recognized taxa in the Mediterranean should be treated as independent species, with the exception of Abies tazaotana and Abies marocana. An unexpectedly early pulse of speciation in the Oligocene–Miocene boundary is here documented for the group, pre-dating previous hypotheses by millions of years, revealing a complex evolutionary history encompassing both ancient and recent gene flow between distant lineages. Conclusions Our phylogenomic results contribute to shed light on conifers’ diversification. Our efforts to resolve the CMF phylogenetic relationships help refine their taxonomy and our knowledge of their evolution.

scholarly journals First monk seal from the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of true seals

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20202318
Author(s):  
James P. Rule ◽  
Justin W. Adams ◽  
Felix G. Marx ◽  
Alistair R. Evans ◽  
Alan J. D. Tennyson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Major Change ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Monk Seals

Living true seals (phocids) are the most widely dispersed semi-aquatic marine mammals, and comprise geographically separate northern (phocine) and southern (monachine) groups. Both are thought to have evolved in the North Atlantic, with only two monachine lineages—elephant seals and lobodontins—subsequently crossing the equator. The third and most basal monachine tribe, the monk seals, have hitherto been interpreted as exclusively northern and (sub)tropical throughout their entire history. Here, we describe a new species of extinct monk seal from the Pliocene of New Zealand, the first of its kind from the Southern Hemisphere, based on one of the best-preserved and richest samples of seal fossils worldwide. This unanticipated discovery reveals that all three monachine tribes once coexisted south of the equator, and forces a profound revision of their evolutionary history: rather than primarily diversifying in the North Atlantic, monachines largely evolved in the Southern Hemisphere, and from this southern cradle later reinvaded the north. Our results suggest that true seals crossed the equator over eight times in their history. Overall, they more than double the age of the north–south dichotomy characterizing living true seals and confirms a surprisingly recent major change in southern phocid diversity.

Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Grigg ◽  
David Kirshner
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Black And White ◽  
New Information ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come

Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians is a comprehensive review of current knowledge about the world's largest and most famous living reptiles. Gordon Grigg's authoritative and accessible text and David Kirshner's stunning interpretive artwork and colour photographs combine expertly in this contemporary celebration of crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials. This book showcases the skills and capabilities that allow crocodylians to live how and where they do. It covers the biology and ecology of the extant species, conservation issues, crocodylian–human interaction and the evolutionary history of the group, and includes a vast amount of new information; 25 per cent of 1100 cited publications have appeared since 2007. Richly illustrated with more than 500 colour photographs and black and white illustrations, this book will be a benchmark reference work for crocodylian biologists, herpetologists and vertebrate biologists for years to come. Winner of the 2015 Whitley Medal.

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