Evolution and biogeography of West Indian Sphaerodactylus (Sauria: Gekkonidae): a molecular approach

This study investigated the phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of West Indian geckos belonging to the genus Sphaerodactylus through an analysis of protein variation. Two techniques were used: sequential starch gel electrophoresis of 15 slow-evolving loci and microcomplement fixation of albumin. The relationships obtained were used to revise the classification of this genus. Two major groups (subsections) occur in the West Indies. The sputator subsection, centred in the Greater Antilles, is composed of three series: cinereus, sputator and argus . The fantasticus subsection, restricted to the Lesser Antilles, includes only the fantasticus series.
Three antibodies ( argus, asterulus and copei ) were used to investigate albumin evolution and estimate times of divergence within Sphaerodactylus . Using the albumin clock calibration derived from other groups, the West Indian Sphaerodactylus had diverged from other sphaerodactylines by approximately 27 million years before present (mybp). Therefore, fragmentation of the Proto-Antilles (60 mybp) apparently did not play a role in the group's evolution. The present distribution of West Indian Sphaerodactylus resulted from dispersal. Hispaniola probably was the centre of Sphaerodactylus diversity and the source of colonists for other islands. Certain features of Sphaerodactylus ecology and physiology make them likely candidates for dispersal. In contrast to the West Indian species of Anolis and Eleutherodactylus , few exampies of morphological convergence are found in Sphaerodactylus . Allopatric speciation, perhaps due to climatic changes in the Pliocene and Pleistocene, is suggested as the primary mechanism of species formation in West Indian Sphaerodactylus .     

Cenozoic biogeography and evolution in direct-developing frogs of Central America (Leptodactylidae: Eleutherodactylus) as inferred from a phylogenetic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial genes

We report the first phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data for the Central American component of the genus Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae: Eleutherodactylinae), one of the most ubiquitous, diverse, and abundant components of the Neotropical amphibian fauna. We obtained DNA sequence data from 55 specimens representing 45 species. Sampling was focused on Central America, but also included Bolivia, Brazil, Jamaica, and the USA. We sequenced 1460 contiguous base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial genome containing ND2 and five neighboring tRNA genes, plus 1300 bp of the c-myc nuclear gene. The resulting phylogenetic inferences were broadly concordant between data sets and among analytical methods. The subgenus Craugastor is monophyletic and its initial radiation was potentially rapid and adaptive. Within Craugastor, the earliest splits separate three northern Central American species groups, milesi, augusti, and alfredi, from a clade comprising the rest of Craugastor. Within the latter clade, the rhodopis group as formerly recognized comprises three deeply divergent clades that do not form a monophyletic group; we therefore restrict the content of the rhodopis group to one of two northern clades, and use new names for the other northern (mexicanus group) and one southern clade (bransfordii group). The new rhodopis and bransfordii groups together form the sister taxon to a clade comprising the biporcatus, fitzingeri, mexicanus, and rugulosus groups. We used a Bayesian MCMC approach together with geological and biogeographic assumptions to estimate divergence times from the combined DNA sequence data. Our results corroborated three independent dispersal events for the origins of Central American Eleutherodactylus: (1) an ancestor of Craugastor entered northern Central America from South American in the early Paleocene, (2) an ancestor of the subgenus Syrrhophus entered northern Central America from the Caribbean at the end of the Eocene, and (3) a wave of independent dispersal events from South America coincided with formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the Pliocene. We elevate the subgenus Craugastor to the genus rank.     

根据叶绿体ndhF和核核糖体DNA序列推断梓属(紫葳科)的系统发育

Phylogenetics of Chilopsis and Catalpa (Bignoniaceae) was elucidated based on sequences of chloroplast ndhF and the nrDNA ITS region. In Bignoniaceae, Chilopsis and Catalpa are most closely related as sister genera. Our data supported section Macrocatalpa of the West Indies and section Catalpa of eastern Asian and North American continents. Within section Catalpa, Catalpa ovata of eastern Asia form a clade with North American species, C. speciosa and C. bignonioides, while the other eastern Asian species comprise a clade where C. duclouxii is sister to the clade of C. bungei and C. fargesii. The Caribbean species of Catalpa diverged early from the continental species. More studies are needed to test whether the phylogenetic pattern is common in eastern Asian-North American disjunct genera with species in the West Indies.     

Rapid chromosome evolution in Jamaican frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae)

Chromosomes from all 17 species of native Jamaican Eleutherodactylus as well as introduced E. johnstonei were subjected to computer-assisted analyses. Diploid chromosome numbers of 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 were found and no two species had identical karyotypes. Karyotypic data were superimposed on a phylogeny derived from allozyme and immunological data in order to assess karyotypic changes that occurred in lineages of Jamaican Eleutherodactylus. Chromosome number changes have occurred at least nine times on the island and have involved both fission and fusion mutational events. C-bands and the sites of secondary constrictions varied and provide very little phylogenetic information. In most instances, karyotypically determined interspecific evolutionary relationships corresponded with the molecular data. The combination of karyological analyses and molecular data clarified lineages which involved convergent chromosome numbers or extremely divergent karyotypes. Karyotypic changes in Jamaican Eleutherodactylus are best explained by chromosome fission, fusion, translocations and inversions which arose in isolated demes and have been fixed through inbreeding and genetic drift. Rates of karyotypic evolution among Jamaican Eleutherodactylus are much faster than previous published rates for frogs. Karyotypic evolution appears to be dictated by behavioural factors and effective population sizes irrespective of taxonomic groupings.     

Albumin evolution and phylogenetic relationships among Greek rodents of the families Arvicolidae and Muridae

The phylogenetic relationships of seven rodent species Microtus atticus, M. thomasi, M. epiroticus (family Arvicolidae) and Mus domesticus, Rattus norvegicus, Apodemus flavicollis and A. mystacinus (family Muridae) have been studied. In order to define these relationships we study the albumin evolution using the micro-complement fixation test (MC'F). No phylogenetic (immunological) distance between M. atticus and M. thomasi was found, a fact which confirms from the biochemical point of view the opinion that the former taxon is a synonym of the latter one. A molecular time scale relating MC'F immunological distances and geological time was established based on the assumption of a rate of 100 amino acid substitutions per–20 million years. The time of divergence between M. epiroticus and M. thomasi was estimated to be 0.5–0.6 million years ago (Pleistocene). Such a recent divergence corroborates the opinion based on morphological and protein electrophoretic criteria according to which Terricola (formerly Pitymys ) must be considered as a subgenus of the genus Microtus and not as a distinct genus Pitymys , as previously had been accepted. Apodemus flavicollis and A. mystacinus were separated about 0.65–0.8 million years ago (Pleistocene). The Rattus norvegicus lineage was separated–12.5 million years ago (end of Miocene), shortly before the Mus and Apodemus divergence. Our data indicate that the common ancestor of Arvicolidae and Muridae lived–25 million years ago (early Miocene). All these results are in agreement with paleontological and some recent DNA-DNA hybridization and electrophoretic data.     

Phylogenetic relationships within Plantago (Plantaginaceae): evidence from nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid trnL-F sequence data

A molecular phylogenetic study of Plantago L. (Plantaginaceae) analysed nucleotide variation in the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal and plastid trnL-F regions. Included are 57 Plantago species, with two Aragoa species as the ingroup and three Veronica species as the outgroup. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony identified five major clades, corresponding to the taxonomic groups Plantago subgenera Plantago, Coronopus, Psyllium, Littorella and Bougueria . Aragoa is sister to genus Plantago . Plantago subgenus Littorella is sister to the other subgenera of Plantago . The results are in general correlated with a morphological phylogenetic study and iridoid glucoside patterns, but Plantago subgenus Albicans is paraphyletic and should be included in Plantago subgenus Psyllium sensu lato to obtain a monophyletic clade with six sections. Plantago section Hymenopsyllium is more closely related to section Gnaphaloides than to section Albicans . Plantago subgenus Bougueria is sister to subgenus Psyllium s.l. section Coronopus in Plantago subgenus Coronopus is subdivided in two series. Only some of the sections can be resolved into series. DNA variation within genus Plantago is high, a result that would not have been predicted on the basis of morphology, which is relatively stereotyped. If we calibrate a molecular clock based on the divergence of P. stauntoni , endemic to New Amsterdam in the southern Indian Ocean, we calculate the time of the split between Plantago and Aragoa to be 7.1 million years ago, which is congruent with the fossil record.  © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 139 , 323–338.     

Molecular Phylogenetic Studies of Caribbean Palms (Arecaceae) and Their Relationships to Biogeography and Conservation

The Caribbean Islands are one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots, remarkable for its biological richness and the high level of threat to its flora and fauna. The palms (family Arecaceae) are well represented in the West Indies, with 21 genera (three endemic) and 135 species (121 endemic). We provide an overview of phylogenetic knowledge of West Indian Palms, including their relationships within a plastid DNA-based phylogeny of the Arecaceae. We present new data used to reconstruct the phylogeny of tribe Cryosophileae, including four genera found in the West Indies, based on partial sequences of the low-copy nuclear genes encoding phosphoribulokinase (PRK) and subunit 2 of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). Recently published phylogenetic studies of tribe Cocoseae, based on PRK sequences, and tribes Cyclospatheae and Geonomateae, based on PRK and RPB2 sequences, also provide information on the phylogenetic relationships of West Indian palms. Results of these analyses show many independent origins of the West Indian Palm flora. These phylogenetic studies reflect the complex envolutionary history of the West Indies and no single biogeographical pattern emerges for these palms. The present day distributions of West Indian palms suggest complicated evolutionary interchange among islands, as well as between the West Indies and surrounding continents. We identified six palm lineages that deserve conservation priority. Species-level phylogenies are needed for Copernicia, Sabal, and Roystonea before we can build a more complete understanding of the origin and diversification of West Indian palms. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Systematics of Oreobates and the Eleutherodactylus discoidalis species group (Amphibia, Anura), based on two mitochondrial DNA genes and external morphology

We present morphological and molecular (mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA) evidence supporting the validity and monophyly of the genus Oreobates . This genus also includes members of the former Eleutherodactylus discoidalis species group plus Eleutherodactylus heterodactylus . The presence of prominent conical subarticular tubercles and prominent supernumerary tubercles associated with the axis of fingers and toes, the presence of glandular axillary pads, and the absence of vocal sacs are proposed as morphological synapomorphies. Species of this taxon form a well-supported crown clade in a phylogeny including members of the genera Craugastor and Eleutherodactylus s.l. The sister taxon to Oreobates is the Eleutherodactylus martinicensis series; Oreobates does not appear to be closely related to the Eleutherodactylus binotatus series or to members of the Eleutherodactylus dolops and Eleutherodactylus nigrovittatus species groups. The taxonomic status of all species of Oreobates is reassessed. Hylodes philippi and Hylodes verrucosus are removed from the synonymy of Oreobates quixensis . We redescribe Oreobates cruralis on the basis of the holotype and new material from Bolivia and Peru, and restrict its distribution to the humid forests of the lowlands and adjacent foothills of the Andes, from southern Peru to central Bolivia. Oreobates granulosus is rediscovered, redescribed, and resurrected, on the basis of the examination of the holotype and additional material from Peru. Phylogenetic analyses of partial 16S mtDNA are used to test the independence of lineages (species). The 14 species of Oreobates are distributed from southern Ecuador to northern Argentina. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 152 , 737–773.     

Biogeographical patterns of the avifaunas of the Caribbean Basin Islands: a parsimony perspective

We analyzed the avifaunas of the Caribbean islands and nearby continental areas and their relationships using Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), in order to assess biogeographical patterns and their concordance with geological and phylogenetic evidence. Using distributional information of birds obtained from published literature, a presence/absence matrix for 695 genera and 2026 species of land and freshwater birds was constructed and analyzed. Three different analyses were performed: for species, for genera, and for species and genera combined. In the combined analysis, the Lesser Antilles appear paraphyletic at the base of the cladogram. Then, two major clades are identified: South America (Andes, Venezuelan lowlands, Dutch West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago) and North America, including the Greater Antilles in a clade that is the sister area to Yucatan and the Central American countries nested from north to south. PAE results support Caribbean vicariant models and cladistic biogeographical hypotheses on area relationships, and show relative congruence with available phylogenetic data. Bird biogeography on the Caribbean islands appears to have been caused by both vicariance and dispersal processes. © The Willi Hennig Society 2007.     

New genus and species of flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) from Puerto Rico, with comments on flea beetle diversity in the West Indies and a key to the West Indian Monoplatini genera

A new genus (Borinken) and five new species (Borinken elyunque, Distigmoptera chamorrae, Kiskeya elyunque, Ulrica eltoro, and Ulrica iviei) from Puerto Rico are described and illustrated. A keyto all West Indian Monoplatini genera is provided, as are keys to all speciesof Kiskeya and to the speciesof Ulrica from Puerto Rico. A list of the flea beetle genera, along with the number of species and some of the faunal features is presented and discussed for the West Indies.     

Phylogenetics of Darwiniothamnus (Asteraceae: Astereae) – molecular evidence for multiple origins in the endemic flora of the Galápagos Islands

Aim The aims of this study were (1) to investigate whether the two growth forms of Darwiniothamnus Harling (Asteraceae) originated from the colonization of a single ancestor, (2) to identify the closest relative(s) of Darwiniothamnus, and (3) to review molecular phylogenies from other plant groups to infer the origin of Galápagos endemics. Location Darwiniothamnus is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Methods All putative relatives of Darwiniothamnus plus 38 additional species were included. Nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacers of the nuclear ribosomal DNA were used for Bayesian and parsimony analyses. Results Darwiniothamnus is polyphyletic. Two species (D. lancifolius (Hook. f.) Harling and D. tenuifolius (Hook. f.) Harling) are woody shrubs that usually grow to 1–2 m in height; they belong to a clade composed of species otherwise restricted to the Caribbean. These two species are sister to Erigeron bellidiastroides Griseb., a herbaceous species endemic to Cuba. The third species (D. alternifolius Lawesson & Adsersen) is a perennial herbaceous plant, woody at the base and reaching only up to 50 cm in height. It is sister to two Chilean (Coquimbo–Valparaiso region) species that also have a perennial herbaceous habit: E. fasciculatus Colla and E. luxurians (Skottsb.) Solbrig. They are placed in an assemblage restricted to South America. The review of previous molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that two of the endemic genera and endemic species of three non‐endemic genera have their closest relatives in South America. Endemic species belonging to three non‐endemic genera have sister species in North America or the West Indies. One endemic genus and endemic species in three non‐endemic genera have sister taxa with a widespread continental distribution, or their molecular phylogenies yielded equivocal results. Main conclusions The flora of Galápagos has affinities with both North America (including the Antilles) and South America. Darwiniothamnus exhibits both patterns: two species of this genus are sister to a taxon endemic to Cuba, supporting a connection between the Cocos plate and the West Indies; the third species, D. alternifolius, provides a link with the Coquimbo–Valparaiso region, suggesting a biogeographical connection between the Nazca plate and southern South America.     

Defining and Dividing the Greater Caribbean: Insights from the Biogeography of Shorefishes

The Greater Caribbean biogeographic region is the high-diversity heart of the Tropical West Atlantic, one of four global centers of tropical marine biodiversity. The traditional view of the Greater Caribbean is that it is limited to the Caribbean, West Indies, southwest Gulf of Mexico and tip of Florida, and that, due to its faunal homogeneity, lacks major provincial subdivisions. In this scenario the northern 2/3 of the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern USA represent a separate temperate, “Carolinian” biogeographic region. We completed a comprehensive re-assessment of the biogeography of the Greater Caribbean by comparing the distributions of 1,559 shorefish species within 45 sections of shelf waters of the Greater Caribbean and adjacent areas. This analysis shows that that the Greater Caribbean occupies a much larger area than usually thought, extending south to at least Guyana, and north to encompass the entire Carolinian area. Rather than being homogenous, the Greater Caribbean is divided into three major provinces, each with a distinctive, primarily tropical fauna: (1) a central, tropical province comprising the West Indies, Bermuda and Central America; (2) a southern, upwelling-affected province spanning the entire continental shelf of northern South America; and (iii) a northern, subtropical province that includes all of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and southeastern USA. This three-province pattern holds for both reef- and soft bottom fishes, indicating a general response by demersal fishes to major variation in provincial shelf environments. Such environmental differences include latitudinal variation in sea temperature, availability of major habitats (coral reefs, soft bottom shorelines, and mangroves), and nutrient additions from upwelling areas and large rivers. The three-province arrangement of the Greater Caribbean broadly resembles and has a similar environmental basis to the provincial arrangement of its sister biogeographic region, the Tropical Eastern Pacific.     

Diversity and clade ages of West Indian hummingbirds and the largest plant clades dependent on them: a 5–9 Myr young mutualistic system

We analysed the geographical origins and divergence times of the West Indian hummingbirds, using a large clock‐dated phylogeny that included 14 of the 15 West Indian species and statistical biogeographical reconstruction. We also compiled a list of 101 West Indian plant species with hummingbird‐adapted flowers (90 of them endemic) and dated the most species‐rich genera or tribes, with together 41 hummingbird‐dependent species, namely Cestrum (seven spp.), Charianthus (six spp.), Gesnerieae (75 species, c. 14 of them hummingbird‐pollinated), Passiflora (ten species, one return to bat‐pollination) and Poitea (five spp.), to relate their ages to those of the bird species. Results imply that hummingbirds colonized the West Indies at least five times, from 6.6 Mya onwards, coming from South and Central America, and that there are five pairs of sister species that originated within the region. The oldest of the dated plant groups diversified 9.1, 8.5, and 5.4 Mya, simultaneous with or slightly before the extant West Indian bird radiations. The time frame of the coevolved bird/flower mutualisms obtained here resembles that recently inferred for North America, namely 5–9 Mya. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 114 , 848–859.     

The historical biogeography of two Caribbean butterflies (Lepidoptera: Heliconiidae) as inferred from genetic variation at multiple loci

Mitochondrial DNA and allozyme variation was examined in populations of two Neotropical butterflies, Heliconius charithonia and Dryas iulia. On the mainland, both species showed evidence of considerable gene flow over huge distances. The island populations, however, revealed significant genetic divergence across some, but not all, ocean passages. Despite the phylogenetic relatedness and broadly similar ecologies of these two butterflies, their intraspecific biogeography clearly differed. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed that populations of D. iulia north of St. Vincent are monophyletic and were probably derived from South America. By contrast, the Jamaican subspecies of H. charithonia rendered West Indian H. charithonia polyphyletic with respect to the mainland populations; thus, H. charithonia seems to have colonized the Greater Antilles on at least two separate occasions from Central America. Colonization velocity does not correlate with subsequent levels of gene flow in either species. Even where range expansion seems to have been instantaneous on a geological timescale, significant allele frequency differences at allozyme loci demonstrate that gene flow is severely curtailed across narrow ocean passages. Stochastic extinction, rapid (re)colonization, but low gene flow probably explain why, in the same species, some islands support genetically distinct and nonexpanding populations, while nearby a single lineage is distributed across several islands. Despite the differences, some common biogeographic patterns were evident between these butterflies and other West Indian taxa; such congruence suggests that intraspecific evolution in the West Indies has been somewhat constrained by earth history events, such as changes in sea level.     

Neotropical schistosomiasis: African affinities of the host snail Biomphalaria glabrata (Gastropoda: Planorbidae)

Schistosoma mansoni , the blood fluke responsible for human intestinal schistosomiasis in the Neotropics, was imported repeatedly with African slaves during the period 1500–1800. This trematode, and its intermediate host snails of the genus Biomphalaria , are widely distributed across Africa and the disease is thought to have quickly become established in South America and the West Indies because of the presence of an endemic susceptible congener, B. glabrata. We compared B. glabrata with four other Neotropical and three African species of Biomphalaria using 20 allozyme loci and found that it is phenetically and phylogenetically more like the African species; both parasite and American host snail are apparently of historically or geologically recent African origin. Furthermore, genetic distances, cladistic analyses and fossil data suggest the African Biomphalaria species may themselves have evolved from Neotropical founders following an initial trans-Atlantic dispersal in the reverse direction 2.3–4.5 Mya. Interpretation of existing patterns remains problematic as few African snails have been characterized genetically and both B. glabrata and African B. pfeifferi appear to comprise several cryptic species.     

Geographical ecology of dry forest tree communities in the West Indies

Aim

Seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) of the Caribbean Islands (primarily West Indies) is floristically distinct from Neotropical SDTF in Central and South America. We evaluate whether tree species composition was associated with climatic gradients or geographical distance. Turnover (dissimilarity) in species composition of different islands or among more distant sites would suggest communities structured by speciation and dispersal limitations. A nested pattern would be consistent with a steep resource gradient. Correlation of species composition with climatic variation would suggest communities structured by broad‐scale environmental filtering.

Location

The West Indies (The Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia), Providencia (Colombia), south Florida (USA) and Florida Keys (USA).

Taxon

Seed plants—woody taxa (primarily trees).

Methods

We compiled 572 plots from 23 surveys conducted between 1969 and 2016. Hierarchical clustering of species in plots, and indicator species analysis for the resulting groups of sites, identified geographical patterns of turnover in species composition. Nonparametric analysis of variance, applied to principal components of bioclimatic variables, determined the degree of covariation in climate with location. Nestedness versus turnover in species composition was evaluated using beta diversity partitioning. Generalized dissimilarity modelling partitioned the effect of climate versus geographical distance on species composition.

Results

Despite a set of commonly occurring species, SDTF tree community composition was distinct among islands and was characterized by spatial turnover on climatic gradients that covaried with geographical gradients. Greater Antillean islands were characterized by endemic indicator species. Northern subtropical areas supported distinct, rather than nested, SDTF communities in spite of low levels of endemism.

Main conclusions

The SDTF species composition was correlated with climatic variation. SDTF on large Greater Antillean islands (Hispaniola, Jamaica and Cuba) was characterized by endemic species, consistent with their geological history and the biogeography of plant lineages. These results suggest that both environmental filtering and speciation shape Caribbean SDTF tree communities.     

Global amphibian declines: a perspective from the Caribbean

Recent concern over the possibility of a global decline in amphibians prompted this assessment of the West Indian species. At the species level, the West Indian amphibian fauna (156 species, all frogs and toads) has not undergone a general decline, and no species is known to be extinct. However, one Puerto Rican species (Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti) has not been seen in over ten years despite considerable search effort. Seven other species, including the Puerto Rican livebearing frog (E. jasperi), have not been seen recently, although their present status cannot be determined until additional effort is made to locate them. Two stream-associated species on Hispaniola (E. semipalmatus and Hyla vasta) appear to have declined in recont years, probably due to the alteration of riparian habitats by deforestation. Other vertebrate groups in the West Indies, such as mammals, have been more affected by human-caused environmental degradation than have amphibians. Large-scale extinctions of frogs and other forest-dwelling species are not expected to occur until forest cover reaches very low levels. Haiti is on the brink of such extinctions with less than 1% of its forest cover remaining. Two recommendations are made to help curtail the expected loss of biodiversity: (i) import charcoal to replace that produced by burning native trees (used as cooking fuel), as an immediate measure, and (ii) control human population growth, as a long-term solution.     

Molecular phylogeny and stripe pattern evolution in the cardinalfish genus Apogon

Cardinalfishes of the genus Apogon (Apogonidae) are one of the most speciose (>200 species) and numerically dominant fishes in coral reefs. Although the genus is divided into 10 subgenera, more than 70% of the species are included in the subgenus Ostorhinchus, most having either horizontal or vertical lines on the body. The phylogenetic relationship among 32 species of subgenus Ostorhinchus and 11 species of four other subgenera of Apogon, based on mitochondrially encoded 12S and 16S ribosomal genes and intervening tRNA(Val) gene, were investigated, using two species of the apogonid genus Fowleria as outgroups. The analyses demonstrated that Ostorhinchus (the most speciose subgenus) was polyphyletic, comprising at least three lineages, Ostorhinchus I, II, and III. Ostorhinchus I included two species, A. (O.) amboinensis and A. (O.) sangiensis, being a sister group to subgenus Zoramia. Ostorhinchus II and III included species with horizontal and vertical lines on the body, respectively. The respective monophylies of the latter two groups, together with a molecular clock calibration, indicated that in the evolutionary history of the genus, basic stripe patterns evolved first (more than 20 million years BP), with subsequent pattern diversification and modification.     

Mainland colonization by island lizards

Aim We investigate biogeographic relationships within the lizard genus Anolis Daudin, 1802 to test the hypothesis that the mainland (Central and South American) Norops‐clade species descended from a West Indian Anolis ancestor. Previous hypotheses have suggested that close island relatives of mainland Norops species (the Cuban Anolis sagrei and Jamaican A. grahami series) represent over‐water dispersal from a mainland ancestor. These previous hypotheses predict that the A. sagrei and A. grahami series should be phylogenetically nested within a Norops clade whose ancestral geography traces to the mainland. If Norops is West Indian in origin, then West Indian species should span the deepest phylogenetic divergences within the Norops clade. Location Central and South America and West Indian islands. Methods The phylogenetic relationships of Anolis lizards are reconstructed from aligned DNA sequences using both parsimony and Bayesian approaches. Hypotheses are tested in two ways: (1) by reconstructing the ancestral geographic location for the Norops clade using Pagel & Lutzoni's (2002) Bayesian approach, and (2) by testing alternative topological arrangements via Wilcoxon Signed‐Ranks tests ( Templeton, 1983 ) and Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests ( Shimodaira & Hasegawa, 1999 ). Results Our evidence supports an origin of mainland Norops anoles from a West Indian ancestor. A West Indian ancestor to the Norops clade is statistically supported, and alternatives to the biogeographic pattern [Cuban (Jamaican, Mainland)] are statistically rejected by Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests, although not by Wilcoxon Signed‐Ranks tests. Main conclusions Our data support the hypothesis of a West Indian origin for mainland Norops. This result contradicts previous hypotheses and suggests that island forms may be an important source for mainland biodiversity.     

Liste préliminaire des Abeilles de Saint-Barthélemy (Antilles françaises) et leurs relations avec la flore butinée (Hymenoptera : Apoidea : Megachilidae,Apidae).

Summary. Preliminary checklist of bees from St. Barthelemy (French West Indies) and their relations with visited flowers (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae, Apidae). An annotated checklist of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), excluding Halictidae, is compiled for St Barthelemy, an island located in the Lesser Antilles of the eastern Caribbean. The list has eight species, including three exotic species to the Caribbean, four others known only from the Caribbean and three that occur both on mainland and the West Indies. The list is constituted with data from literature and from our field researches carried out by Karl Questel between 2006 and 2013. A list of visited flowers, along with ecological notes for each species is also given.