| Vhembelacerta rupicola EDWARDS et al., 2013 Lacerta rupicola FITZSIMONS, 1933 Australolacerta rupicola ARNOLD, 1989 |
FitzSimons, V. (1933) - Descriptions of five new lizards from the Transvaal and southern Rhodesia. - Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 15 (2): 273-281.  Edwards, S. & Branch, W.R. & Vanhooydonck, B. & Herrel, A. & Measey, G.J. & Tolley, K.A. (2013) - Taxonomic adjustments in the systematics of the southern African lacertid lizards (Sauria: Lacertidae) - Zootaxa, 3669 (2): 101–114.  × Molecular phylogenetic analyses of southern African lacertid lizards (Eremiadini) using mitochondrial and nuclear
markers revealed two examples of generic assignments incompatible with monophyletic clades. Australolacerta
Arnold 1989, a genus endemic to South Africa and to which two isolated species have been referred, is
paraphyletic at the generic level. In addition, the species Ichnotropis squamulosa Peters 1854 was found to be
embedded within the genus Meroles. To resolve the paraphyly in Australolacerta we erect a new genus,
Vhembelacerta Edwards, Branch, Herrel, Vanhooydonck, Measey, & Tolley, gen. nov., to accommodate Lacerta
rupicola FitzSimons 1933. To maintain a monophyletic Ichnotropis Peters 1854, Ichnotropis squamulosa Peters
1854 is transferred to Meroles Gray 1838, now named Meroles squamulosus comb. nov. Where necessary the
genera affected by these actions are re-characterized. Engleder, A. & Haring, E. & Kirchhof, S. & Mayer, W. (2013) - Multiple nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences provide new insights into the phylogeny of South African Lacertids (Lacertidae, Eremiadinae). - Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, Berlin, 51 (2): 132-143. × Eremiadinae, one of three subfamilies of Lacertidae, are distributed throughout Asia and Africa. Previous phylogenetic studies suggested that one of
the main groups of Eremiadinae (the Ethiopian clade) consist of two clades with predominately East-African and South-African distribution. Yet, especially
the latter one, which includes the genera Pedioplanis, Meroles, Ichnotropis, Tropidosaura and Australolacerta, was not well supported in the
molecular phylogenetic analysis. In this study, we analysed the phylogenetic relationships among the genera of the ‘South African clade’ to assess
whether this group actually forms a highly supported clade and to address questions concerning the monophyly of the genera. We sequenced sections
of the widely used mitochondrial genes coding for 16S rRNA, 12S rRNA and cytochrome b (altogether 2045 bp) as well as the nuclear genes c-mos,
RAG-1, PRLR, KIF24, EXPH5 and RAG-2 (altogether 4473 bp). The combined data set increased the support values for several nodes considerably.
Yet, the relationships among five major lineages within the ‘South African clade’ are not clearly resolved even with this large data set. We interpret
this as a ‘hard polytomy’ due to fast radiation within the South African lacertids. The combined tree based on nine marker genes provides strong support
for the ‘South African Clade’ and its sister group relationship with the ‘East African Clade’. Our results confirm the genus Tropidosaura as a
monophylum, while Ichnotropis is paraphyletic in our trees: Ichnotropis squamulosa appears more closely related to Meroles than to Ichnotropis capensis.
Furthermore, the monophyly of Meroles is questionable as well. Based on our results, I. squamulosa should be transferred from Ichnotropis into
the genus Meroles. Also, the two species of Australolacerta (A. australis and A. rupicola) are very distantly related and the genus is perhaps paraphyletic,
too. Finally we propose a phylogeographical scenario in the context of palaeoclimatic data and compare it with a previously postulated hypothesis.
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