Sunday, February 3, 2019

[Herpetology • 2019] Diversification of Bent-toed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus) on Sumatra and west Java



in O'Connell, Smart, Sidik, et al., 2019. 

Highlights
• Sumatran and Javan bent-toed geckos are most closely related to species from the Thai-Malay Peninsula.
• Cyrtodactylus most likely dispersed to Sumatra three times during the late Oligocene and early Miocene.
• Cyrtodactylus invaded west Java from the Sumatra once in the early Miocene.
• Data support lowland connections over highland land bridges as dispersal pathways.

Abstract
Complex geological processes often drive biotic diversification on islands. The islands of Sumatra and Java have experienced dramatic historical changes, including isolation by marine incursions followed by periodic connectivity with the rest of Sundaland across highland connections. To determine how this geological history influenced island invasions, we investigated the colonization history and diversification of bent-toed geckos (genus Cyrtodactylus) on Sumatra and west Java. We used mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data to explore species boundaries, estimate phylogenetic relationships and divergence times, and to reconstruct ancestral range evolution. We found that Sumatran and Javan Cyrtodactylus were closely related to species from the Thai-Malay Peninsula, rather than from Borneo, and that Cyrtodactylus most likely dispersed to Sumatra three times during the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Similarly, Cyrtodactylus invaded west Java from Sumatra once in the early Miocene. Our results suggest that despite isolation by marine incursions during much of the Miocene, Cyrtodactylus dispersed to and from Sumatra and west Java likely via land bridges, and that in situ diversification occurred several times on Sumatra.

Keywords: Dispersal, Diversification, Geckos, Island biogeography, Java, Sumatra



 Kyle A. O'Connell, Utpal Smart, Irvan Sidik, Awal Riyanto, Nia Kurniawan and Eric N.Smith. 2019. Diversification of Bent-toed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus) on Sumatra and west Java. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 134; 1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.01.021