Molecular phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the genus Asaccus Dixon and Anderson, 1973 (Reptilia: Phyllodactylidae) in Iran

2020 ◽  
pp. 207-214
Author(s):  
Akbar Fattahi

The Iranian species of the phyllodactylid geckos of the genus Asaccus are found only in the valleys of the Zagros Mountains, a region which represents an important area of endemism in western Iran. Recently, many relict species have been described from the central and southern parts of the Zagros Mountains, which were previously known as A. elisae. The recent descriptions of species within this complex suggest that diversity within the genus may be higher than expected and that its taxonomy and systematics should be revised. In the present study, phylogenetic relationships within the genus Asaccus were evaluated using two mitochondrial and one nuclear gene. Genetically, the genus shows high levels of variability. The molecular phylogeny of the genus suggests the presence of three main clades along the Zagros Mountains with the southern population (from the Hormozgan province) and one clade (A. sp8 and A. sp9) being sister taxon to A. montanus from UAE. The remaining samples are separated into two reciprocally monophyletic groups: the northern (Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Ilam provinces) and the central (Lorestan, Khuzestan, Kohgilouye-Bouyer Ahmad and Fars provinces) Zagros groups. The results of the present study suggest that populations attributed to A. elisae in Iran correspond to distinct lineages with high genetic distances. In brief, our results suggest that the genus needs a major taxonomical revision The Arabian origin of the genus has not been confirmed, because two populations from Zagros were located within the A. montanus, A. gallagheri and A. platyrhynchus clade. Further morphological analyses are needed to systematically define each genetic lineage as a new taxon.

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence J. Clarke ◽  
Duncan I. Jardine ◽  
Margaret Byrne ◽  
Kelly Shepherd ◽  
Andrew J. Lowe

Atriplex sp. Yeelirrie Station (L. Trotter & A. Douglas LCH 25025) is a highly restricted, potentially new species of saltbush, known from only two sites ~30 km apart in central Western Australia. Knowledge of genetic structure within the species is required to inform conservation strategies as both populations occur within a palaeovalley that contains significant near-surface uranium mineralisation. We investigate the structure of genetic variation within populations and subpopulations of this taxon using nuclear microsatellites. Internal transcribed spacer sequence data places this new taxon within a clade of polyploid Atriplex species, and the maximum number of alleles per locus suggests it is hexaploid. The two populations possessed similar levels of genetic diversity, but exhibited a surprising level of genetic differentiation given their proximity. Significant isolation by distance over scales of less than 5 km suggests dispersal is highly restricted. In addition, the proportion of variation between the populations (12%) is similar to that among A. nummularia populations sampled at a continent-wide scale (several thousand kilometres), and only marginally less than that between distinct A. nummularia subspecies. Additional work is required to further clarify the exact taxonomic status of the two populations. We propose management recommendations for this potentially new species in light of its highly structured genetic variation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 499-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. Zhang ◽  
G.X. Qiao

AbstractThree traditional tribes of Fordini, Pemphigini and Eriosomatini comprise Pemphiginae, and there are two subtribes in Fordini and Pemphigini, respectively. Most of the species in this subfamily live heteroecious holocyclic lives with distinct primary host specificity. The three tribes of Pemphigini (except Prociphilina), Eriosomatini and Fordini use three families of plants, Salicaceae (Populus), Ulmaceae (Ulums) and Anacardiaceae (Pistacia and Rhus), as primary hosts, respectively, and form galls on them. Therefore, the Pemphigids are well known as gall makers, and their galls can be divided into true galls and pseudo-galls in type. We performed the first molecular phylogenetic study of Pemphiginae based on molecular data (EF-1α sequences). Results show that Pemphiginae is probably not a monophylum, but the monophyly of Fordini is supported robustly. The monophyly of Pemphigini is not supported, and two subtribes in it, Pemphigina and Prociphilina, are suggested to be raised to tribal level, equal with Fordini and Eriosomatini. The molecular phylogenetic analysis does not show definite relationships among the four tribes of Pemphiginae, as in the previous phylogenetic study based on morphology. It seems that the four tribes radiated at nearly the same time and then evolved independently. Based on this, we can speculate that galls originated independently four times in the four tribes, and there is no evidence to support that true galls are preceded by pseudo-galls, as in the case of thrips and willow sawflies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Juan Zhao ◽  
Gen-Shen Yin ◽  
Yue-Zhi Pan ◽  
Bo Tian ◽  
Xun Gong

Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains (HHM) is a biodiversity hotspot, and very rich in endemic species. Previous phylogeographical studies proposed different hypotheses (vicariance and climate-driven speciation) in explaining diversification and the observed pattern of extant biodiversity, but it is likely that taxa are forming in this area in species-specific ways. Here, we reexplored the phylogenetic relationship and tested the corresponding hypotheses within Paeonia subsect. Delavayanae composed of one widespread species (Paeonia delavayi) and the other geographically confined species (Paeonia ludlowii). We gathered genetic variation data at three chloroplast DNA fragments and one nuclear gene from 335 individuals of 34 populations sampled from HHM. We performed a combination of population genetic summary statistics, isolation-with-migration divergence models, isolation by environment, and demographic history analyses. We found evidence for the current taxonomic treatment that P. ludlowii and P. delavayi are two different species with significant genetic differentiation. The significant isolation by environment was revealed within all sampled populations but genetic distances only explained by geographical distances within P. delavayi populations. The results of population divergence models and demographic history analyses indicated a progenitor–derivative relationship and the Late Quaternary divergence without gene flow between them. The coalescence of all sampled cpDNA haplotypes could date to the Late Miocene, and P. delavayi populations probably underwent a severe bottleneck in population size during the last glacial period. Genetic variation in Paeonia subsect. Delavayanae is associated with geographical and environmental distances. These findings point to the importance of geological and climatic changes as causes of the speciation event and lineage diversification within Paeonia subsect. Delavayanae.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 231 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Leonardo Biral ◽  
Eric De Camargo Smidt ◽  
Mônica Bolson ◽  
Julio Antônio Lombardi

A new species of Maytenus has been discovered in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The new taxon, Maytenus nemorosa, occurs mostly in ombrophilous rain forests at an elevation of 500 m to 1200 m. Maytenus nemorosa resembles M. gonoclada but differs from it by possessing oblong-elliptical leaves with entire margins and larger fruits with thicker pericarp walls. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted with nrITS and plastid matK regions, including the new species and additional taxa available from the NCBI-GenBank. The results from the phylogenetic analysis places Maytenus nemorosa nested within a clade of species that have fruits possessing a coriaceous pericarp and close to both Maytenus gonoclada and Maytenus salicifolia, as expected from morphological similarities. Additionally, M. cardenasii and M. erythrocarpa, from Bolivia, are both recognized as new synonyms for M. floribunda after an examination of their descriptions, types, and diverse collections.


Nematology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzad Aliramaji ◽  
Esmaeil Miraeiz ◽  
Ebrahim Pourjam ◽  
Ramin Heydari

Summary Cryptaphelenchus baujardi n. sp. is described and illustrated based on two populations from Golestan province, northern Iran. The new species is characterised by female and male body length of 224 (190-261) and 215 (195-229) μm, respectively, offset cephalic region with a shallow constriction, delicate stylet 6.6 (6.0-7.0) μm long, four incisures in the lateral field, presence of a rudimentary post-uterine sac in the female gonoduct, elongate-conoid female tail ending in an acute to finely rounded terminus, male tail conical, male with seven caudal papillae and delicate spicules. The new species shows a strong resemblance to C. varicaudatus and C. iranicus, but has a sclerotised mass near the tip of the spicule and an indistinct spermatheca. Phylogenetic analyses based on both partial SSU and LSU rDNA sequences confirm its status as a new taxon.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Macaranas ◽  
D Colgan ◽  
S Ingleby

The taxonomic status of fruitbats belonging to the genera Nyctimene and Rousettus from the Solomon Islands was investigated using allozyme electrophoresis. Two populations from the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) were included as reference profiles. The allozyme data at 23 loci assigned all specimens into either Nyctimene albiventer or Nyctimene major. The N. albiventer specimens comprised two subspecies, N. a. papuanus from the Bismarck Archipelago and N. a. bougainville from the Solomon Islands. No support was evident for bougainville being a separate species, and indeed the data suggest that N. a. bougainville encompasses the previously described species N. malaita and subspecies N. a. minor. Genetic distances between populations of R. amplexicaudatus from the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands were generally low, supporting recent morphological assessments that the subspecies hedigeri, from the majority of the Solomon Islands, should be considered synonymous with subspecies brachyotis. An individual from Choiseul (Solomon Islands) with a distinctive allozyme profile is the only evidence of taxonomic complexity in R. amplexicaudatus.


2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Benzoni ◽  
Fabrizio Stefani ◽  
Jaroslaw Stolarski ◽  
Michel Pichon ◽  
Guillaume Mitta ◽  
...  

The phylogenetic relationships of the scleractinian genus Psammocora with the other genera traditionally included in the family Siderastreidae and some Fungiidae are assessed based on combined skeletal and molecular data. P. explanulata differs from the other examined congeneric species (P. contigua, P. digitata, P. nierstraszi , P. profundacella, P. superficialis, and P. stellata) in possessing interstomatous septa between adult corallites, costae, and in having continuous buttress-like structures joining septal faces (i.e., fulturae) which typically occur in fungiids. These characters are shared with Coscinaraea wellsi but not with the remainder of the examined siderastreids (the congeneric C. columna, and Anomastraea irregularis, Horastrea indica, Pseudosiderastrea tayamai, Siderastrea savignyana) whose septa are interconnected by typical synapticulae. Most of the examined species form septa with distinct transverse groups of centers of calcification, a biomineralization pattern typical of the Robusta clade. The observations on skeletal structures corroborate the results of the ITS2 and 5.8S molecular phylogeny. C. wellsi and P. explanulata are phylogenetically very close to each other and show closer genetic affinity with the examined Fungiidae (Halomitra pileus, Herpolitha limax, Fungia paumotensis, and Podabacia crustacea) than with the other species in the genera Psammocora and Coscinaraea, or with any other siderastreid. Our results show that neither Psammocora nor Coscinaraea are monophyletic genera. The high genetic distances between the species of Siderastreidae, especially between Pseudosiderastrea tayamai and Siderastrea savignyana on one side and the other genera on the other, suggest a deep divergence in the phylogenetic structure of the family.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1737 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. BLAIR HEDGES ◽  
WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN ◽  
MATTHEW P. HEINICKE

New World frogs recently placed in a single, enormous family (Brachycephalidae) have direct development and reproduce on land, often far away from water. DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear genes of 344 species were analyzed to estimate their relationships. The molecular phylogeny in turn was used as the basis for a revised classification of the group. The 882 described species are placed in a new taxon, Terrarana, and allocated to four families, four subfamilies, 24 genera, 11 subgenera, 33 species series, 56 species groups, and 11 species subgroups. Systematic accounts are provided for all taxa above the species level. Two families (Craugastoridae and Strabomantidae), three subfamilies (Holoadeninae, Phyzelaphryninae, and Strabomantinae), six genera (Bryophryne, Diasporus, Haddadus, Isodactylus, Lynchius, and Psychrophrynella), and two subgenera (Campbellius and Schwartzius) are proposed and named as new taxa, 13 subspecies are considered to be distinct species, and 613 new combinations are formed. Most of the 100 informal groups (species series, species groups, and species subgroups) are new or newly defined. Brachycephalus and Ischnocnema are placed in Brachycephalidae, a relatively small clade restricted primarily to southeastern Brazil. Eleutherodactylidae includes two subfamilies, four genera, and five subgenera and is centered in the Caribbean region. Craugastoridae contains two genera and three subgenera and is distributed mainly in Middle America. Strabomantidae is distributed primarily in the Andes of northwestern South America and includes two subfamilies, 16 genera, and three subgenera. Images and distribution maps are presented for taxa above the species level and a complete list of species is provided. Aspects of the evolution, biogeography, and conservation of Terrarana are discussed.


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