Integrative revision of the Lygodactylus gutturalis (Bocage, 1873) complex unveils extensive cryptic diversity and traces their evolutionary history
31 Mar 2023 - Javier Lobon-Rovira, BIOPOLIS, CIBIO-InBIO/UP | 14h45 | CIBIO’s Auditorium, Campus de Vairão
STUDENT SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION
Lygodactylus
is the most speciose gekkonid group in Africa, with several additional,
candidate species already identified. However, in mainland Africa several
groups remain only partially resolved, and there are several taxonomic inconsistencies.
Lygodactylus gutturalis was described from Guinea-Bissau in the 1870s and since
then, the species has been recorded from West to East Africa, widely
distributed through different biomes and ecoregions. However, this taxon has
never been studied in detail. The access to new material have contributed the
revised the group using an integrative approach, including molecular
phylogenetic analysis, morphometrics, skull osteology and biogeography, to
provide the first systematic revision of the L. gutturalis species complex.
Javier Lobon-Rovira is BIODIV PhD student at CIBIO research center under the project entitled "Inferring evolutionary traits in geckos: from wide to local perspectives”. His research focuses on the different evolutionary traits displayed by Southern Africa reptiles, specially Gekkonids, to shed light on nowadays biogeographic and morphological patterns of this group in this poorly explored part of globe.
[Host: David James Harris, Applied Phylogenetics - AP]