title: Extended molecular phylogenetics and revised systematics of Malagasy scincine lizards.
abstract: Among the endemic biota of Madagascar, skinks are a diverse radiation of lizards that exhibit a striking ecomorphological variation, and could provide an interesting system to study body-form evolution in squamate reptiles. We provide a new phylogenetic hypothesis for Malagasy skinks of the subfamily Scincinae based on an extended molecular dataset comprising 8060bp from three mitochondrial and nine nuclear loci. Our analysis also increases taxon sampling of the genus Amphiglossus by including 16 out of 25 nominal species. Additionally, we examined whether the molecular phylogenetic patterns coincide with morphological differentiation in the species currently assigned to this genus. Various methods of inference recover a mostly strongly supported phylogeny with three main clades of Amphiglossus. However, relationships among these three clades and the limb-reduced genera Grandidierina, Voeltzkowia and Pygomeles remain uncertain. Supported by a variety of morphological differences (predominantly related to the degree of body elongation), but considering the remaining phylogenetic uncertainty, we propose a redefinition of Amphiglossus into three different genera (Amphiglossus sensu stricto, Flexiseps new genus, and Brachyseps new genus) to remove the non-monophyly of Amphiglossus sensu lato and to facilitate future studies on this fascinating group of lizards.
authors.affiliation: Technical University of Braunschweig, Division of Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, Mendelssohnstr. 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany; Wageningen University, Biosystematics Group, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: jesse.erens@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Erens
authors.affiliation: Technical University of Braunschweig, Division of Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, Mendelssohnstr. 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany; ISYEB, UMR7205 MNHN-CNRS-UPMC-EPHE, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Systématique et Evolution, CP30, 25 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Aurélien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miralles
authors.affiliation: Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), Münchhausenstr. 21, 81247 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Glaw
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University, Biosystematics Group, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lars W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Chatrou
authors.affiliation: Technical University of Braunschweig, Division of Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, Mendelssohnstr. 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vences
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D008270:Madagascar; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Madagascar; Morphology; Phylogeny; Scincidae; Skinks; Taxonomy