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6 November 2018 Phylogeography of Jackson's Forest Lizard Adolfus jacksoni (Sauria: Lacertidae) Reveals Cryptic Diversity in the Highlands of East Africa
Eli Greenbaum, Stephanie Dowell Beer, Daniel F. Hughes, Philipp Wagner, Christopher G. Anderson, Cesar O. Villanueva, Patrick K. Malonza, Chifundera Kusamba, Wandege M. Muninga, Mwenebatu M. Aristote, William R. Branch
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Jackson's Forest Lizard (Adolfus jacksoni) is widespread throughout the highlands of the Albertine Rift, southern Uganda, western and central Kenya, and northern Tanzania. To understand the population genetics and phylogenetic relationships of this widespread taxon, we sequenced two mitochondrial (16S and cyt b) and two nuclear (c-mos and RAG1) genes from multiple populations. Population genetics analyses suggested a high degree of genetic differentiation among A. jacksoni populations, reflecting the high-elevation montane “islands” that they inhabit. Populations connected by a network of mountain ranges generally showed lower levels of genetic partitioning than those isolated by low-elevation habitat. Results from phylogenetic analyses and additional morphological data indicated that Adolfus jacksoni occurs throughout the Albertine Rift, likely from the Kabobo Plateau to the Lendu Plateau of Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as southern Uganda, Mt. Elgon, and the highlands of western Kenya on the western side of the Kenyan Rift. Adolfus kibonotensis is removed from the synonymy of the latter taxon, elevated to full species, and recognized from the central Kenyan highlands to northern Tanzania on the eastern side of the Kenyan Rift. A new Adolfus species is described from the Mathews Range in central Kenya.

© 2018 by The Herpetologists' League, Inc.
Eli Greenbaum, Stephanie Dowell Beer, Daniel F. Hughes, Philipp Wagner, Christopher G. Anderson, Cesar O. Villanueva, Patrick K. Malonza, Chifundera Kusamba, Wandege M. Muninga, Mwenebatu M. Aristote, and William R. Branch "Phylogeography of Jackson's Forest Lizard Adolfus jacksoni (Sauria: Lacertidae) Reveals Cryptic Diversity in the Highlands of East Africa," Herpetological Monographs 32(1), 51-68, (6 November 2018). https://doi.org/10.1655/HERPMONOGRAPHS-D-18-00005.1
Published: 6 November 2018
KEYWORDS
Adolfus mathewsensis sp. nov.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Kenya
Montane forest
phylogeny
population genetics
Tanzania
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