title: Phylogeny of Trachylepis sp. (Reptilia) from Turkey inferred from mtDNA sequences.
abstract: The taxonomic status of the species included into the genus Trachylepis in Turkey are doubtful. So far, three morphological species have been attributed to this genus in Turkey; Trachylepis aurata. T. vittata, and T. septemtaeniata. Here, we investigated the taxonomy of the Turkish Trachylepis species by employing phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches and using mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b and 12 S rRNA). In total, 45 Trachylepis and 6 Mabuya specimens were used analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out using Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods. The phylogenetic relationships and the genetic distances retrieved, revealed that the Turkish species, which currently recognized as Trachylepis, are highly diversified, forming a distinct clade that shows closer phylogenetic affinity with the species of the genus Mabuya rather than the other Trachylepis species. In this clade, the three Turkish species are monophyletic with T. vittata to branch off first in late Miocene (10.54 Mya). The other two species (T. septemtaeniata and T. aurata) seem to have sister group relationship that diverged at the end of Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.27 Mya). As a whole, the examination of mtDNA lineages in the Turkish lizards of the genus Trachylepis may contribute substantially to the refining of their taxonomic status, since the three species of Turkey, although monophyletic, represent a distinct radiation that would could probably recognized as a different genus in Mabuya sensu lato.
authors.affiliation: Aksaray University, Güzelyurt Vocational School, Department of Plant and Animal Production , Güzelyurt/Aksaray , Turkey .
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Güçlü
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Candan
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kankiliç
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kumlutaş
authors.forename: Salih Hakan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Durmuş
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Poulakakis
authors.forename: Cetin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ilgaz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008116:Lizards / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; C075526:RNA, ribosomal, 12S; D045303:Cytochromes b
keywords: Divergence times; Mabuya sensu lato; middle east; molecular phylogeny; systematic