title: Molecular phylogenetics and species delimitation of leaf-toed geckos (Phyllodactylidae: Phyllodactylus) throughout the Mexican tropical dry forest.
abstract: Methods and approaches for accurate species delimitation continue to be a highly controversial subject in the systematics community. Inaccurate assessment of species' limits precludes accurate inference of historical evolutionary processes. Recent evidence suggests that multilocus coalescent methods show promise in delimiting species in cryptic clades. We combine multilocus sequence data with coalescence-based phylogenetics in a hypothesis-testing framework to assess species limits and elucidate the timing of diversification in leaf-toed geckos (Phyllodactylus) of Mexico's dry forests. Tropical deciduous forests (TDF) of the Neotropics are among the planet's most diverse ecosystems. However, in comparison to moist tropical forests, little is known about the mode and tempo of biotic evolution throughout this threatened biome. We find increased speciation and substantial, cryptic molecular diversity originating following the formation of Mexican TDF 30-20million years ago due to orogenesis of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Mexican Volcanic Belt. Phylogenetic results suggest that the Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Rio Fuerte, and Isthmus of Tehuantepec may be important biogeographic barriers. Single- and multilocus coalescent analyses suggest that nearly every sampling locality may be a distinct species. These results suggest unprecedented levels of diversity, a complex evolutionary history, and that the formation and expansion of TDF vegetation in the Miocene may have influenced subsequent cladogenesis of leaf-toed geckos throughout western Mexico.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada; Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada. Electronic address: CBlair@citytech.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Herpetología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-153, C.P. 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Fausto R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Méndez de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Science Complex, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada; Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D065928:Forests; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D008116:Lizards / Q000145:classification*; D008800:Mexico; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
keywords: Bayesian; Biogeography; Lizard; Mexico; Phylogeny; Speciation