Phylogenetic relationships of Semaphore geckos (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae: Pristurus) with an assessment of the taxonomy of Pristurus rupestris

A molecular phylogeny of the genus Pristurus reveals that P. rupestris is polyphyletic, comprising two highly divergent clades: an eastern clade found in coastal Iran and northern Oman/UAE, and a western clade distributed from central Oman through Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. The study, based on 1845 base pairs of mitochondrial (12S) and nuclear genes (acm4, cmos, rag1, rag2) from 80 individuals representing 18 species and three subspecies, demonstrates that the clades are genetically distinct with no shared alleles. Morphological analysis showed differentiation but no diagnostic characters. The eastern clade is formally designated P. rupestris, while the western clade is tentatively labeled Pristurus sp. 1 due to insufficient data from its type locality. The phylogeny also suggests Socotra Archipelago was colonized independently at least twice.

BADIANE, A., GARCIA-PORTA, J., ČERVENKA, J., KRATOCHVÍL, L., SINDACO, R., ROBINSON, M. D., MORALES, H., MAZUCH, T., PRICE, T., AMAT, F., SHOBRAK, M. Y., WILMS, T., SIMÓ-RIUDALBAS, M., AHMADZADEH, F., PAPENFUSS, T. J., CLUCHIER, A., VIGLIONE, J., & CARRANZA, S. (2014). Phylogenetic relationships of Semaphore geckos (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae: Pristurus) with an assessment of the taxonomy of Pristurus rupestris. Zootaxa, 3835(1). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3835.1.2