Arnold, E.N. (1980) - The scientific results of the Oman flora and fauna survey 1977 (Dhofar). The reptiles and amphibians of Dhofar, southern Arabia. - Journal of Oman Studies, Special report, 2: 273-332.   × Some 500 Dhofar reptiles and amphibians are discussed and a minimum of 48 terrestrial species recognised for the area of which 5 were previously undescribed; these are a gecko, Hemidactylus lemurinus, and the lacertids Acanthodactylus felicis, A. opheodurus,A. masirae and Mesalina ayunensis; a new subspecies of gecko from north Oman, Bunopus spatalurus hajarensis is also reported. Various other species are reviewed; it appears that Bunopus abudhabi is a synonym of B. blanfordi, which is probably conspecific with B. tuberculatus, Hemidactylus parkeri is regarded as a subspecies of H. turcicus, the Arabian agamas of the Agama cyanogaster group are shown to include 2 species to which the names adramitana and yemenensis are applicable although their status relative to African populations in the group is not clear; A. jayakari is conspecific with A. flavimaculata, and A. neumanni with A. sinaita; Chamaeleo chamaeleon orientalis is similar to more northern populations of C. chamaeleon but C. c. arabicus is very well differentiated and may be a separate species, the use of genitalia in the classification of Acanthodactylus is emphasised and A. arabicus, A. blanfordi and A. schmidti are all given full species status; the recognition of Mesalina as a genus indepemdemt of Eremias is confirmed, it is suggestes that Atractaspis engeddensis may be conspecific with A. microlepidota and that Lytorhynchus gaddi is a synonym of L. diadema; the distinctive population of Echis carinatus in Dhofar appears to be closely related to those in south-west Arabia and adjoining Africa but animals from northern Oman and the rest of south-west Asia are very different. Additional specimens are reported of Bunopus s. spatalurus and Coluber thomasi, both previously known from only 2 individuals. Geographical variations of a number of species is discribed including 3 geckos that show very considerable differences within southern Dhofar: Hemidactylus homocolepis, H. yerburii and Tropiocolotes scorteccii.
Observations on the ecology of many species are noted, especially for the aberrant gecko genus Pristurus, one species of which, P. carteri, behaves like a small, ground-dwelling diurnal agamid. Resource partition, at least amongst the lizards, appears to be largely based on parameters of time, food (especially prey size), hunting method and space. A number of forms occourring in both noreth Oman and Dhofar show differences in niche in the two areas apparently related to the presence of absence of a competitor.
Several species are recorded from Dhofar for the first time including Bunopus spatalurus, Hemidactylus flaviviridis, H. turcicus parkeri, Pristurus minimus, Agama adramitana, Acanthodactylus boskianus,Mabuya tessellata, Leptotyphlops macrorhynchus and Lytorhynchus diadema. The herpetofauna of the area can be divided into a largely northern element of desert-adapted forms widespread in the Arabian peninsula and a more peripheral element in the south which shows considerably more affinity to south-west Arabia than to northern Oman. No reptile of amphibian endemics occur in the forested areas of Dhofar but 3 species present in the drymesic habitats on the north side of the mountains may be restricted to the region.
Acanthodactylus opheodurus, Acanthodactylus felicis, Acanthodactylus masirae, Acanthodactylus boskianus, Acanthodactylus schmidti, Mesalina adramitana, Mesalina ayunensis. Harris, D.J. & Arnold, E.N. (2000) - Elucidation of the relationships of spiny-footed lizards, Acanthodactylus spp. (Reptilia: Lacertidae) using mitochondrial DNA sequence, with comments on their biogeography and evolution. - Journal of Zoology, London, 252 (3): 351-362. × Mitochondrial DNA sequences consisting of 645 sites from the 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes were used to estimate the phylogeny of 15 of the 32 species of spiny-footed lizards Acanthodactylus. The resultant tree has similarities to that produced from a differentially weighted data set of 32 morphological characters but there are also significant differences. However, combined analysis of molecular and morphological data sets produces the same tree topology as DNA sequence alone. The molecular data confirm that there are distinct eastern and western clades within Acanthodactylus, but place A. boskianus in the former while the A. scutellatus group constitutes a third clade. Species for which only morphological information is available were integrated with the combined tree to give a provisional phylogeny for 31 species. This phylogeny indicates that the ancestor of existing Acanthodactylus probably originated in south-west Asia and that North Africa was invaded by more than one lineage of the genus. It also suggests that soft aeolian sand habitats may have been independently occupied more than once. Molecular data provide independent evidence that the differential weighting of morphological characters in past analyses was appropriate. Tamar, K. & Carranza, S. & Sindaco, R. & Moravec, J. & Trape, J.-F. & Meiri, S. (2016) - Out of Africa: Phylogeny and biogeography of the widespread genus Acanthodactylus (Reptilia: Lacertidae). - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 103: 6-18. × Acanthodactylus lizards are among the most diverse and widespread diurnal reptiles in the arid regions spanning from North Africa across to western India. Acanthodactylus constitutes the most species-rich genus in the family Lacertidae, with over 40 recognized species inhabiting a wide variety of dry habitats. The genus has seldom undergone taxonomic revisions, and although there are a number of described species and species-groups, their boundaries as well as their interspecific relationships are largely unresolved. We constructed a multilocus phylogeny, combining data from two mitochondrial (12S, cytb) and three nuclear (MC1R, ACM4, c-mos) markers for 302 individuals belonging to 36 known species, providing the first large-scale time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the genus. We evaluated phylogenetic relationships between and within species-groups, and assessed Acanthodactylus biogeography across its known range. Acanthodactylus cladogenesis is estimated to have originated in Africa due to vicariance and dispersal events from the Oligocene onwards. Radiation started with the separation into three clades: the Western and scutellatus clades largely distributed in North Africa, and the Eastern clade occurring mostly from Arabia to south-west Asia. Most Acanthodactylus species diverged during the Miocene, possibly as a result of regional geological instability and climatic changes. We support most of the current taxonomic classifications and phylogenetic relationships, and provide genetic validity for most species. We reveal a new distinct blanfordii species-group, suggest new phylogenetic positions (A. hardyi, A. masirae), and synonymize several species and subspecies (A. lineomaculatus, A. boskianus khattensis and A. b. nigeriensis) with their phylogenetically closely-related species. We recommend a thorough systematic revision of taxa exhibiting high levels of intraspecific variability as well as clear evidence of phylogenetic complexity such as A. guineensis, A. grandis, A. dumerilii, and A. senegalensis and the pardalis and erythrurus species-groups.
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