INVESTIGADORES
VALDECANTOS Maria Soledad
artículos
Título:
Morphological diversity and phylogenetic relationships within a south-american clade of iguanian lizards (Liolaemidae: Phymaturus)
Autor/es:
LOBO, FERNANDO; ABDALA, CRISTIAN Y SOLEDAD VALDECANTOS
Revista:
ZOOTAXA
Editorial:
MAGNOLIA PRESS
Referencias:
Año: 2012 p. 1 - 41
ISSN:
1175-5326
Resumen:
With 36 species and other 9 populations potential independent lineages (not formally described yet) occurring mostly in the Andes and adjacent Patagonia and Puna plateau areas, Phymaturus lizards represent one of the most endemic vertebrate groups of the arid southwestern region of South America. Phylogenetic relationships among species of Phymaturus are inferred using mainly a morphological data set based on 206 characters. Also available sequences of mitochondrial DNA for 7 terminals were added for a total evidence analysis. Most information is included in the discrete characters block; most of charactes involves pattern, skeletons and squamation, within continuous characters: body proportions, squamation and skeletons. Among morphological data, binary polymorphic characters were analyzed applying the scaled coding criteria. Continuous characters were entered in the analysis using standardized ranges a method that allow a simple optimization to estimate distances/costs avoiding the arbitrary coding as discrete characters. For our parsimony analysis we choose the implied weights method which underweights homoplastic characters. Several runs were made analyzing all the information combined and also separating morphological from molecular datasets. Binary polymorphisms were also analyzed as missing data. All characters affected by sexual dimorphism were analyzed separating sexes; female information was found as more congruent with the total evidence analysis. Characters involving continuous and polymorphic information are relevant for searching and building hypothesis in Phymaturus phylogenetics. All results are shown and discussed. There exist significant congruence of the molecular information analyzed in this study with those published in previous analyses of the literature. Within both main clades of Phymaturus, subgroups distributed in their northern extremes are those more recently originated during the genus diversification. Species belonging to the puna subclade of the palluma group are arranged in two natural groups, one distributed in the north, Catamarca and La Rioja provinces and the other with southern distribution in La Rioja and San Juan provinces. Within the patagonicus group, majority of species are arranged in a south-central Chubut clade, eastern-central Chubut clade, central Rionegro clade and a Payunia clade.