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A new perspective on the reduction of cephalic scales in fossorial legless skinks (Squamata, Scincidae)

A new perspective on the reduction of cephalic scales in fossorial legless skinks (Squamata, Scincidae)
A new perspective on the reduction of cephalic scales in fossorial legless skinks (Squamata, Scincidae)
In this study, we provide an extended multilocus phylogenetic analysis combining mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of a group of fossorial and miniaturized legless lizards (genus Paracontias) from Madagascar, including the description of two species new to science, P. ampijoroensis sp. nov. and P. mahamavo sp. nov. Our analyses revealed the existence of two distinct, parapatric and diagnosable clades within the genus: (i) the ‘kankana clade’ (including P. kankana and the two newly described species), located in the north (but absent from the extreme northern tip) of the island and characterized by a pattern of cephalic scales very unusual for Malagasy Scincinae, with large loreal scales extending to and meeting each other at dorsal midline, and (ii) the ‘brocchii clade’ (including all other studied species), endemic to the north of Madagascar and characterized by small loreal scales separated from each other by the rostral and the frontonasal scale. By combining phylogenetic results with morphological traits observed among species, we develop novel hypotheses on the simplification of the cephalic scalation pattern within this genus, a trend frequently encountered among various lineages of legless squamates that convergently adapted to a burrowing lifestyle. Additionally, a user-friendly graphical identification key for species of Paracontias is provided and made available as supplementary information.
0300-3256
380-393
Miralles, Aurélien
5c9adc58-ec03-43ef-b40d-0d90ecb72f92
Jono, Teppei
c4ce800c-e802-46c8-a103-3be2dc296784
Mori, Akira
1f4244dd-4ab8-4c47-9843-f1336b9d346c
Gandola, Robert
bacf4fbf-cb2d-4006-a906-0a776e1710cd
Erens, Jesse
40918fdc-3b06-4639-b99f-980346e47bd7
Köhler, Jörn
42806609-fe01-4fea-99f5-e3e90d9f9dd5
Glaw, Frank
bae14867-afa7-4610-8278-b76aab50e40c
Vences, Miguel
c5f2e0ab-1566-4117-906e-325f8d775613
Miralles, Aurélien
5c9adc58-ec03-43ef-b40d-0d90ecb72f92
Jono, Teppei
c4ce800c-e802-46c8-a103-3be2dc296784
Mori, Akira
1f4244dd-4ab8-4c47-9843-f1336b9d346c
Gandola, Robert
bacf4fbf-cb2d-4006-a906-0a776e1710cd
Erens, Jesse
40918fdc-3b06-4639-b99f-980346e47bd7
Köhler, Jörn
42806609-fe01-4fea-99f5-e3e90d9f9dd5
Glaw, Frank
bae14867-afa7-4610-8278-b76aab50e40c
Vences, Miguel
c5f2e0ab-1566-4117-906e-325f8d775613

Miralles, Aurélien, Jono, Teppei, Mori, Akira, Gandola, Robert, Erens, Jesse, Köhler, Jörn, Glaw, Frank and Vences, Miguel (2016) A new perspective on the reduction of cephalic scales in fossorial legless skinks (Squamata, Scincidae). Zoologica Scripta, 45 (4), 380-393. (doi:10.1111/zsc.12164).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In this study, we provide an extended multilocus phylogenetic analysis combining mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of a group of fossorial and miniaturized legless lizards (genus Paracontias) from Madagascar, including the description of two species new to science, P. ampijoroensis sp. nov. and P. mahamavo sp. nov. Our analyses revealed the existence of two distinct, parapatric and diagnosable clades within the genus: (i) the ‘kankana clade’ (including P. kankana and the two newly described species), located in the north (but absent from the extreme northern tip) of the island and characterized by a pattern of cephalic scales very unusual for Malagasy Scincinae, with large loreal scales extending to and meeting each other at dorsal midline, and (ii) the ‘brocchii clade’ (including all other studied species), endemic to the north of Madagascar and characterized by small loreal scales separated from each other by the rostral and the frontonasal scale. By combining phylogenetic results with morphological traits observed among species, we develop novel hypotheses on the simplification of the cephalic scalation pattern within this genus, a trend frequently encountered among various lineages of legless squamates that convergently adapted to a burrowing lifestyle. Additionally, a user-friendly graphical identification key for species of Paracontias is provided and made available as supplementary information.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 20 January 2016
Published date: July 2016
Organisations: Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 386205
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/386205
ISSN: 0300-3256
PURE UUID: e2a82ae7-30dd-49c3-8e3a-29d20d90d832

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Date deposited: 21 Jan 2016 09:35
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:28

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Contributors

Author: Aurélien Miralles
Author: Teppei Jono
Author: Akira Mori
Author: Robert Gandola
Author: Jesse Erens
Author: Jörn Köhler
Author: Frank Glaw
Author: Miguel Vences

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