The phylogenetic relationships and molecular systematics of scincid lizards of the genus Heremites (Sauria, Scincidae) in the Middle East based on mtDNA sequences

Abstract

The taxonomic status of species included in the genus Heremites in Iran and Iraq is uncertain. Three of these species have been assigned to the genus based on morphology: Heremites auratus transcaucasica, H. vittatus, and H. septemtaeniatus. We examined the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic status of the Iranian and Iraqi species of Heremites by performing phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA). Phylogenetic relationships and estimated genetic distances indicated that the Heremites populations of the area (Iran and Iraq) form five distinct clades. Three of these clades are found only in Iran, specifically in: (1) Fars and Hormozgan provinces; (2) Northeastern Khuzestan; and (3) Khorasan and Isfahan provinces. The fourth clade (H. septemtaeniatus) is found in west and Mahshahr in Iran as well as in eastern and northern parts of Iraq. The fifth clade, Heremites vittatus, is found in Iran and Iraq. We also confirm the absence of H. auratus in Iran and Iraq. It also indicated that H. vittatus is sister taxon to the other groups that our analyses estimate the divergence of this clade in the Middle Miocene (15.9 Mya). The clade containing the Fars-Hormozgan and Khuzestan populations diverged at the end of the Miocene (8.5 Mya). The Isfahan and Khorasan populations separated at the Pliocene (4.2 Mya) from the western Iranian group, the group in Mahshahr, Iran and the groups in northern and eastern Iraq.

Keywords:

• 16S rRNA
• cytochrome b
• biogeography
• Heremites
• Iran
• Iraq
• systematics

Acknowledgements

We thank Ann Paterson who improved the draft and added valuable comments to the manuscript. We are grateful to Saeed Hosseinian, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for his help with laboratory procedures. We also thank Hassan Salehi, Alireza Sari, and Mehdi Dehgan, Zoological Museum, University of Tehran, for the loan of some specimens of Heremites. Additionally, we thank Fadhil Abbas Rhadi, Rihab Ghaleb Mohammed, and Razieh Fattahi for their cooperation during field work in Iran and Iraq.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.