Species:

cretensis  (WETTSTEIN, 1952)

Synonyms:

Podarcis erhardii wernerianus  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii punctigularis  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii elaphonisii  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii schiebeli  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii rechingeri  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii leukaorii  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis erhardii cretensis  WETTSTEIN, 1952

Podarcis cretensis  LYMBERAKIS et al, 2008

Common names:

Kreta Mauereidechse (German)
Crete Wall Lizard (English)
Κρητική Κολισαύρα (Greek)

Types:

Holotype: NMW, male (Naturhistorisches Museum in Wien) 8272; O. WETTSTEIN leg., 22. IV. 1942, (TIEDEMANN et al., 1994).

Terra Typica:

Kastelli Kissamou (NW Crete).

Taxonomic notes:

Wurde von P. erhardii abgetrennt. Die bisherigen Unterarten im Raum Kreta (elaphonisii, leukaorii, punctigularis, rechingeri, schiebeli, wernerianus) wurden mit cretensis synonymisiert.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Wettstein, O. (1952) -  Description Lacerta trilineata diplochondrodes; L. t. polylepidota. -  In: “Dreizehn neue Reptilienrassen von den Ägäischen Inseln”. - Anzeiger der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, 89: 251-256.   

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• Lymberakis, P. & Poulakakis, N. & Kaliontzopoulou, A. & Valakos, E. & Mylonas, M. (2008) -  Two new species of Podarcis (Squamata; Lacertidae) from Greece. -  Systematics and Biodiversity, 6 (3): 307–318.    

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  Recently, several works have focused on the lacertid lizards of the genus Podarcis, revealing cases of hidden diversity and paraphyly, and offering evidence that suggests the revision of the extant taxonomical arrangements within the genus. Hidden diversity and paraphyly have been shown to exist in the relationships betweentheBalkan species P. peloponnesiacaandP. erhardii as well. Herewecouple a molecular (mtDNA) dataset with a corresponding morphological one, consisting of morphometric and pholidotic characters, to check for concordance between the two. Phylogenetic analyses reinforced previous suggestions for paraphyly of P. erhardii with respect to P. peloponnesiaca.We found the variation of certain pholidotic characters concordant with the relationships inferred from partial mtDNA sequences, whereas morphometric characters were not. The latter is possibly due to greater influence of morphometric characters by environmental factors. To avoid the observed paraphyly we proceed with the description of the populations from Crete and the islet of Pori, until now designated as P. erhardii, as separate taxa at the species level.

• Spilani, L. & Bougiouri, K. & Antoniou, A. Psonis, N. & Poursanidis, D. & Lymberakis, P. & Poulakakis, N. (2019) -  Multigene phylogeny, phylogeography and population structure of Podarcis cretensis species group in south Balkans. -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 138: 193-204.     

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  The evolutionary history of taxa with limited overseas dispersal abilities is considered to be majorly infl;uenced by vicariant events constituting them as model organisms for the interpretation of evolutionary processes. An excellent candidate are the wall lizards of the genus Podarcis exhibiting an impressive level of genetic and morphological diversification and harboring several cases of recently discovered cryptic diversity. In this study, we investigated the effect of palaeogeographic events on the wall lizards’ biodiversity patterns in the Aegean (Greece) as well as the evolutionary processes that acted both in space and time. To accomplish that we studied a group of three endemic Podarcis species (i.e., P. cretensis, P. levendis, and P. peloponnesiacus) both at the intra and interspecific levels employing mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data as well as microsatellites. Furthermore, presence information coupled with bioclimatic data (i.e., species distribution modeling, and niche similarity analyses) shed light on the necessary ecological factors for the species’ occurrence. These approaches revealed yet another case of cryptic diversity for this group of lizards, with the existence of two slightly overlapping lineages within P. peloponnesiacus and highly structured populations within P. cretensis. Species diversification occurred during the Pliocene with P. peloponnesiacus divergence into the two lineages dating back to 1.86 Mya. Furthermore, temperature and precipitation related environmental parameters were the most important ones regarding the current distribution of the studied species. Based on the results, we propose a more detailed phylogeographic scenario where both the paleogeography of the area and several environmental parameters have shaped the genetic diversity and the current distribution pattern of this species group.