Subspecies:

Apathya cappadocica cappadocica  (WERNER, 1902)

Synonyms:

Lacerta cappadocica   WERNER, 1902

Types:

Holotype: Lost (EISELT 1979).

Terra Typica:

Erciyes Mountains (Erciyes Dağı) in central Anatolia, near Kayseri. “Auf dem bithynischen Olymp bei Brussa”.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Werner, F. (1902) -  Die Reptilien und Amphibienfauna von Kleinasien. -  Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. Wien, Abteilung 1: 1057-1121.  

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• Bird, C.G. (1936) -  The distribution of Reptiles and Amphibians in Asiatic Turkey, with notes on a Collection from the Vilayets of Adana, Gaziantep and Malatya. -  The Annals and magazine of natural history, (10) 18: 257-281.  

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• Eiselt, J. (1979) -  Ergebnisse zoologischer Sammelreisen in der TüŸrkei Lacerta cappadocica Werner, 1902 (Lacertidae, Reptilia), -  Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 82: 387-421.    

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  A revisionary study of 366 specimens of Lacerta cappadodca WERNER, from Turkey, Iraq, and Iranhas revealed the existence of 5 subspecies: L. c. cappadodca WERNER (Kilikian Taurus to west of Malatya) ; L. c. wolteri (BIRD, 1936) (Amanus-Mountains to the Euphrates) ; L. c. muhtari ssp. nov. (east of Malatya and the Euphrates to the south of Lake Van, Turkey and to Sersang, Northeastern Iraq); L. c. schmidtlerorum ssp. nov. (around Diyarbakir and Viransehir); L. c. urmiana (LANTZ & STJCHOW, 1934) (South- eastern Turkey, Northeastern Iraq, Northwestern Iran).

• Kapli, P. & Botoni, D. & Ilgaz, Ç. & Kumlutaş, Y. & Avcı, A. & Rastegar-Pouyani, N. & Fathinia, B. & Lymberakis, P. & Ahmadzadeh, F. & Poulakakis, N. (2013) -  Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeogtraphy of the Anatolian lizard Apathya (Squamata, Lacertidae). -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66 (3): 992-1001.    

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  Apathya is a lacertid genus occurring mainly in south-east Turkey and its adjacent regions (part of Iran and Iraq). So far two morphological species have been attributed to the genus; A. cappadocica (with five subspecies, A. c.cappadocica, A. c.muhtari, A. c.schmidtlerorum, A. c. urmiana and A. c.wolteri) and A.yassujica. The first species occupies most of the genus’ distribution range, while A. yassujica is endemic of the Zagros Mountains. Here, we explored Apathya’s taxonomy and investigated the evolutionary history of the species by employing phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches and using both mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear markers. The phylogenetic relationships and the genetic distances retrieved, revealed that Apathya is a highly variable genus, which parallels its high morphological variation. Such levels of morphological and genetic differentiation often exceed those between species of other Lacertini genera that are already treated as full species, suggesting the necessity for a taxonomic revision of Apathya. The phylogeographical scenario emerging from the genetic data suggests that the present distribution of the genus was determined by a combination of dispersal and vicariance events between Anatolia and Southwest Asia dating back to the Miocene and continuing up to the Pleistocene. Key geological events for the understanding of the phylogeography of the genus are the movement of the Arabian plate that led to the configuration of Middle East (orogenesis of the mountain ranges of Turkey and Iran) and the formation of Anatolian Diagonal.