Genetic variation within African spiny-tailed lizards (Agamidae: Uromastyx) estimated using mitochondrial DNA sequences

African spiny-tailed lizards (Uromastyx) are large, herbivorous lizards extensively traded locally for food and internationally as pets. Several species have recently been described, although some remain controversial. To determine relationships within North African forms, twenty individuals were analysed for over 1000 bases of mitochondrial DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analyses indicate four deeply divergent lineages that correspond to sampling areas, but not to current species designations. These results indicate that present taxonomy does not reflect the evolutionary history of these species.

[1]  Y. Kumazawa,et al.  Mitochondrial DNA sequences of the Afro-Arabian spiny-tailed lizards (genus Uromastyx; family Agamidae) : phylogenetic analyses and evolution of gene arrangements , 2005 .

[2]  D. Broadley.  The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Western Sahara, Phillipe Geniez, José Antonio Mateo, Michel Geniez and Jim Pether : book review , 2005 .

[3]  P. Taberlet,et al.  Phylogeographical footprints of the Strait of Gibraltar and Quaternary climatic fluctuations in the western Mediterranean: a case study with the greater white‐toothed shrew, Crocidura russula (Mammalia: Soricidae) , 2005, Molecular ecology.

[4]  Michael P. Cummings,et al.  PAUP* [Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (and Other Methods)] , 2004 .

[5]  Michael C Whitlock,et al.  The incomplete natural history of mitochondria , 2004, Molecular ecology.

[6]  N. Suárez,et al.  The Atlas mountains as a biogeographical divide in North-West Africa: evidence from mtDNA evolution in the Agamid lizard Agama impalearis. , 2002, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution.

[7]  L. Madec,et al.  Evolutionary history of the land snail Helix aspersa in the Western Mediterranean: preliminary results inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences , 2001, Molecular ecology.

[8]  R. H. Thomas,et al.  Relationships of lacertid lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae) estimated from mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphology , 1998, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[9]  J. Thompson,et al.  CLUSTAL W: improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position-specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. , 1994, Nucleic acids research.

[10]  A. Meyer,et al.  Dynamics of mitochondrial DNA evolution in animals: amplification and sequencing with conserved primers. , 1989, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[11]  J. Felsenstein.  CONFIDENCE LIMITS ON PHYLOGENIES: AN APPROACH USING THE BOOTSTRAP , 1985, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[12]  D. Harris,et al.  Phylogeography of the genus Blanus (worm lizards) in Iberia and Morocco based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers — preliminary analysis , 2006 .

[13]  N. Ferrand,et al.  Genetic variation in Tarentola mauritanica (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) across the Strait of Gibraltar derived from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences , 2005 .

[14]  Carretero,et al.  Assessment of genetic diversity within Acanthodactylus erythrurus (Reptilia: Lacertidae) in Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula using mitochondrial DNA sequence data , 2004 .

[15]  Ramakant Sharma,et al.  Phylogeny Estimation and Hypothesis Testing using Maximum Likelihood , 2003 .

[16]  Carretero,et al.  Complex patterns of genetic diversity within Lacerta (Teira) perspicillata: Preliminary evidence from 12S rRNA sequence data , 2003 .

[17]  D. Harris.  Reassessment of comparative genetic distance in reptiles from the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene , 2002 .

[18]  W. Böhme,et al.  A new Uromastyx species from south-eastern Arabia, with comments on the taxonomy of Uromastyx aegyptia (FORSKAL, 1775) (Squamata: Sauria: Agamidae) Eine neue Uromastyx - Art aus dem südöstlichen Arabien, mit Kommentaren zur Taxonomie von Uromastyx aegyptia , 2000 .

[19]  David Posada,et al.  MODELTEST: testing the model of DNA substitution , 1998, Bioinform..

[20]  L. López-Jurado,et al.  Chorological analysis and morphological variations of Saurians of the genus uromastyx (Reptilia, Agamidae) in western Sahara: Description of two new taxa. , 1998 .

[21]  U. Joger,et al.  Analysis of the herpetofauna of the Republic of Mali. Annotated inventory, with description of a new Uromastyx (Sauria: Agamidae) , 1996 .

[22]  Andrew P. Martin,et al.  The Polymerase Chain Reaction: DNA Extraction and Amplification , 1991 .

[23]  Andrew W. B. Johnston,et al.  Molecular Techniques in Taxonomy , 1991, NATO ASI Series.