Genus:

Atlantolacerta ARNOLD et al., 2007

Species (1):

Atlantolacerta andreanskyi  (WERNER, 1929)

Taxonomic notes:

The taxonomy of the only species of this genus was subject to remarkable changes until recently. Apart from their classification as part of the collection genus Lacerta s. l., it has long been considered a Zootoca (relatives of the viviparous lizard), until it finally was placed in the genus Teira. DNA studies showed beyond doubt that they do not belong in the subfamily Lacertinae, but represents the basal branch of Eremiadinae. BARATA et al. (2012) present a genetic analysis of A. andreanskyi, according to which the individual isolated populations show considerable differentiation and refer to them as “cryptic” species. A subsequent publication (BARATA et al., 2015) deals with the morphological differentiation of the populations. Since this is extremely low, a splitting in species is not advocated.

WERNER MAYER, 2015

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Arnold, E.N. & Arribas, O. & Carranza, S. (2007) -  Systematics of the Palaearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with descriptions of eight new genera. -  Zootaxa, 1430: 1-86.    

  ×

  DNA sequence indicates the Lacertidae contain two subfamilies, Gallotiinae and Lacertinae, the latter comprising two monophyletic tribes, the Eremiadini of Africa and arid southwest and central Asia, and the Lacertini of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest and east Asia. Relationships within the 108 species of Lacertini are explored using mtDNA (291 bp cytochrome b; 329 bp 12S rRNA for 59 nominal species, and reanalysis of the data of Harris et al. 1998, and Fu 2000). The morphology of the tribe is reviewed and 64 of its characters (equivalent to 83 binary ones) also used to assess relationships. The Lacertini are assigned to 19 monophyletic units of 1 to 27 species, recognised here as the following genera (contents are indicated in brackets): Algyroides, Anatololacerta gen. nov. (L. danfordi group), Apathya (L. cappadocica group), Archaeolacerta (L. bedriagae), Dalmatolacerta gen. nov. (L. oxycephala), Darevskia (L. saxicola group), Dinarolacerta gen. nov. (L. mosorensis), Hellenolacerta gen. nov. (L. graeca), Iberolacerta (L. monticola group), Iranolacerta gen. nov. (L. brandtii and L. zagrosica), Lacerta s. str. (sand and green lizards, L. agilis group), Parvilacerta gen. nov. (L. parva and L. fraasii), Phoenicolacerta gen. nov. (L. laevis group), Podarcis (wall lizards), Scelarcis (L. perspicillata), Takydromus (Asian grass lizards), Teira (L. dugesii), Timon (ocellated lizards, L. lepida group) and Zootoca (L. vivipara). Both mtDNA and morphology indicate that Lacerta and Timon are sister taxa, and DNA suggests further possible relationships among genera (Fig. 1, p. 6). Neither DNA nor morphology indicates that the archaeolacertas (sometimes formalised as Archaeolacerta sens. lat.) form a clade. Instead, they are representatives of an ecomorph associated with living on rock exposures and using the narrow crevices that these contain. The Lacertidae probably arose in the European area, with the Gallotiinae later reaching Northwest Africa and the Canary Islands, and the ancestor of the Eremiadini invading Africa in the mid-Miocene. The Lacertini spread through much of their present European range and diversified, perhaps largely by repeated vicariance, around 12–16 My ago, producing the ancestors of the present mainly small-bodied genera, which then underwent often modest speciation. Three units spread more widely: the Lacerta-Timon clade of large-bodied lizards probably dispersed earliest, followed by Algyroides and then Podarcis. Overall, European Lacertidae show a pattern of repeated spread, often accompanied by restriction of previous groups. Expansion of Lacertini may have displaced earlier lacertid lineages from all or much of Europe; while spread of Podarcis may have restricted many other genera of Lacertini. The earlier expansion of the Lacerta-Timon clade probably did not have this effect, as difference in adult body size restricted competitive interaction with other forms. Several invasions of more distant areas also occurred: of East Asia by Takydromus over 10 My ago, and more recently of northwest Africa by Podarcis, Scelarcis and Timon, and Madeira by Teira. Relationships within the Eremiadini estimated from both mtDNA, and nDNA differ considerably from those based on morphology. They indicate relatively mesic forms may have diversified widely across Africa and given rise to at least three independent invasions of arid habitats. MtDNA also indicates that Lacerta andreanskyi belongs in the Eremiadini and may occupy a basal position there. It is assigned to a further new genus, Atlantolacerta gen. nov.

• Barata, M. & Carranza, S. & Harris, D.J. (2012) -  Extreme genetic diversity in the lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929): A montane cryptic species complex. -  BMC Evolutionary Biology, 12: 167. 19 pp.    

  ×

  Background: Atlantolacerta andreanskyi is an enigmatic lacertid lizard that, according to the most recent molecular analyses, belongs to the tribe Eremiadini, family Lacertidae. It is a mountain specialist, restricted to areas above 2400 m of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco with apparently no connection between the different populations. In order to investigate its phylogeography, 92 specimens of A. andreanskyi were analyzed from eight different populations across the distribution range of the species for up to 1108 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (12S, ND4 and flanking tRNA-His) and 2585 base pairs of nuclear DNA including five loci (PDC, ACM4, C-MOS, RAG1, MC1R). Results: The results obtained with both concatenated and coalescent approaches and clustering methods, clearly show that all the populations analyzed present a very high level of genetic differentiation for the mitochondrial markers used and are also generally differentiated at the nuclear level. Conclusions: These results indicate that A. andreanskyi is an additional example of a montane species complex.

• Barata, M. & Perera, A. & Harris, D.J. (2015) -  Cryptic variation in the Moroccan high altitude lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Squamata: Lacertidae). -  African Journal of Herpetology, Johannesburg, South Africa, 64 (1): 1-17.  

  ×

  Atlantolacerta andreanskyi is a mountain specialist lacertid lizard, restricted to areas above 2400 m of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, with apparently no geographic connection between different populations. In a recent molecular study, populations from A. andreanskyi collected across its distribution area were analysed, showing unprecedented levels of genetic differentiation for mitochondrial markers, which were also partially differentiated for nuclear markers. Here we aim to investigate, for the first time, the phenotypic variability of this species, using univariate and multivariate analyses on linear measurements, pholidotic and coloration characters in six populations of A. andreanskyi previously analysed genetically and covering most of its distribution range. The results show that despite the high genetic divergence previously detected, morphological variation among populations was low. Thus, although some genetic lineages could be partially discriminated morphologically at a multivariate level, single diagnostic traits could not be identified, and thus, they can be considered as cryptic lineages. Although the extreme genetic diversity observed supports the existence of six independent entities, more prospecting and analysis of additional populations will be needed to confirm the evolutionary independence of the lineages before their formal description.