| taxonomic adjustments in the systematics of the southern african lacertid lizards (sauria: lacertidae). | 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 au ... | 2013 | 26312325 |
| convergent evolution associated with habitat decouples phenotype from phylogeny in a clade of lizards. | convergent evolution can explain similarity in morphology between species, due to selection on a fitness-enhancing phenotype in response to local environmental conditions. as selective pressures on body morphology may be strong, these have confounded our understanding of the evolutionary relationships between species. within the speciose african radiation of lacertid lizards (eremiadini), some species occupy a narrow habitat range (e.g. open habitat, cluttered habitat, strictly rupicolous, or st ... | 2012 | 23251601 |