Phylogeography and Species Delimitation of Asaccus montanus (Gekkota, Phyllodactylidae). New insights into cryptic diversity and conservation in the Hajar Mountains
Miró Almuni, Guillem Lluís
Carranza Gil-Dolz del Castellar, Salvador dir.
Burriel Carranza, Bernat dir.
Soler Membrives, Anna tut. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Our knowledge of global biodiversity has many gaps regarding the total number of species and their geographic distribution. The lack of investigation in specific environments, together with the huge impact of human activity on natural ecosystems, only helps to worsen this situation. Over the last decades, several studies have unveiled mountain ranges in arid regions as reservoirs of hidden diversity. The Hajar Mountains of southeast Arabia constitute a clear example, with high levels of squamate endemism. Previous work in Jebel Akhdar identified two deeply divergent lineages within the Mountain leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus montanus), suggesting a possible case of cryptic diversity. In this study, we further explore the phylogeography and species boundaries of A. montanus by incorporating new genomic data. Using a combination of population structure analyses, phylogenetics, and coalescent-based species delimitation methods, we evaluated the extent of genetic divergence and the possible presence of independently evolving lineages within the species. Our results reveal strong population structure across the distribution range of A. montanus, although current data remains insufficient to determine whether the observed lineages represent distinct species. We therefore highlight the need for a more extensive sampling and the integration of complementary approaches to address this question. Overall, our study sheds light on the evolutionary history of A. montanus, underscores the challenges of delimiting species in recently diverged lineages, and highlights the role of arid mountain systems as relevant diversity hotspots, with remarkable implications for conservation strategies.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra, i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials i que es distribueixin sota la mateixa llicència que regula l'obra original. Cal que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Studies:	Ecologia terrestre i gestió de la biodiversitat [4313774]
Study plan:	Ecologia terrestre i gestió de la biodiversitat [4313774]
Document:	Treball de recerca
Subject:	Biodiversity crisis ; Arid regions ; Hajar Mountains ; Endemism ; Asaccus montanus ; Phylogeography ; Species delimitation

38 p, 5.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > Dissertations