| Lacerta guttulata LICHTENSTEIN, 1823 Scapteira punctulata GRAY, 1838 Eremias guttulata DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1839 Eremias pardalis DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1839 Mesalina pardalis GRAY, 1845 Eremias pardaloides BOULENGER, 1887 Mesalina guttulata SZCZERBAK, 1975 |
Lichtenstein, H. (1823) - Description of Mesalina rubropunctata and M. guttulata. - In: “Verzeichnis der doublettten des zoologischen Museums der Königl. Universität zu Bertlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten von Säugethieren, Vögeln, Amphibien und Fischen.” Trautwein, Berlin. i-x, 1-118.  Kapli, P. & Kyriazi, P. & Lymberakis, P. & Poulakakis, N. (2008) - Molecular systematics and herpetofauna conservation: examples of Lacertidae from the east Mediterranean region. - In: Pafilis, P., Kotsakiozi, P. & E.D. Valakos (eds.): 6th International Symposium on the Lacertids of the Mediterranean Basin, 23-27 June 2008, Mythimna, Lesvos, Greece: 31.  × The assessment of biodiversity by means that ignore the evolutionary relationships of the living forms can be quite misleading, resulting in the over-evaluation of some morphs and the ignorance of other evolutionary significant units. Molecular phylogeny, which is a potentially powerful tool for the conservation of biodiversity, provides essential evidence for setting conservation priorities on several taxa. Phylogenetic analyses can identify cryptic, genetically distinct lineages as well as non-distinctive lineages earlier perceived as separate taxa. The herpetofauna of the east Mediterranean region, which could be considered as one of nature’s most intensively active evolutionary laboratories, serves as an excellent example. Phylogenetic analyses on several lacertid taxa of this area have revealed cases of hidden diversity, paraphyly, new species and new endemics. In several cases the presence of cryptic species (Podarcis levendis, P. cretensis), species with very restricted distributions (P. gaigeae, P. milensis), paraphyletic (M. guttulta) or even polyphyletic species (O. elegans) were revealed. Such cases impose a considerable revision of the taxonomic views and conservation priorities. Based on these findings, many questions have been answered and certainly new ones have emerged, contributing not only to our knowledge on the east Mediterranean herpetofauna, but to broader issues of conservation biology, prioritizing conservation efforts and enhancing the need for a new multidisciplinary and innovative tool for screening and re-evaluating biodiversity. Sindaco, R. & Simó-Riudalbas, M. & Sacchi, R. & Carranza, S. (2018) - Systematics of the Mesalina guttulata species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Arabia with the description of two new species. - Zootaxa, 4429 (3): 513-547. × Mesalina are small diurnal lacertid lizards inhabiting arid areas from North Africa to northwestern India. Previous phylo- genetic studies have shown the existence of several species complexes within the genus, some of them with high levels of undiscovered diversity. In the present study, we carry out an integrative systematic revision of the Mesalina guttulata spe- cies complex using both molecular and morphological data from across its entire distribution range in North Africa, the Middle East and Arabia. The results of the genetic analyses indicate that M. guttulata and M. bahaeldini are two allopatric sister taxa separated by the Suez Canal and that the species complex includes a further three unnamed deep phylogenetic lineages, two of them restricted to southern and southwestern Arabia and described herein as Mesalina austroarabica sp. nov. and Mesalina arnoldi sp. nov., respectively. As a result of the lack of enough material, the third deep lineage, distrib- uted across Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, is provisionally left undescribed. The two newly described species are char- acterized by their size, scale counts and tail coloration, as well as differences at the three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene analyzed in the present study. Šmíd, J. et al. (2025) - Phylogeny and systematics of Arabian lacertids from the Mesalina guttulata species complex (Squamata, Lacertidae), with the description of a new species. - BMC Zoology: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-025-00233-3 × Background The lacertid genus Mesalina has been the subject of several phylogenetic and biogeographic studies as well as taxonomic revisions within the last decade. The genus is partitioned into seven main clades, some of which represent species complexes of morphologically very similar species. The Mesalina guttulata species complex is one such case. This complex currently comprises four described species that occur through Arabia and northern Africa, however, the presence of a cryptic species in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan was pointed out recently. For this study, we collected new material of the various species of the M. guttulata complex, including the undescribed lineage from across Saudi Arabia. We carried out multilocus phylogenetic analyses using three mitochondrial and three nuclear markers and analysis of morphological data to verify whether the undescribed lineage deserves a species rank.
Results The results show that the lineage is clearly genetically separated from the other species of the complex and shows morphological differentiation from the other species. Therefore, we describe it herein as a new species, Mesalina cryptica sp. nov.
Conclusions We contribute to the taxonomy of Arabian lacertid lizards by describing a new species distributed in central Saudi Arabia, with isolated populations occurring in Kuwait and Jordan. Despite its large range, the species is genetically and morphologically homogeneous. The gap in its distribution between the Jordan and Saudi Arabia populations is ascribable to the paucity of sampling along the Saudi/Iraqi border.
Keywords Lizards, Mesopotamia, Middle East, Sauria, Squamates, Reptiles, Taxonomy
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