Abstract
The Malagasy giant chameleons (Furcifer oustaleti and Furcifer verrucosus) are sister species that are both broadly distributed in Madagascar, and also endemic to the island. These species are also morphologically similar and, because of this, have been frequently misidentified in the field. Previous studies have suggested that cryptic species are nested within this chameleon group, and two subspecies have been described in F. verrucosus. In this study, we utilized a phylogeographic approach to assess genetic diversification within these chameleons. This was accomplished by (1) identifying clades within each species supported by both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, (2) assessing divergence times between clades, and (3) testing for niche divergence or conservatism. We found that both F. oustaleti and F. verrucosus could be readily identified based on genetic data, and within each species, there are two well-supported clades. However, divergence times are not contemporary and spatial patterns are not congruent. Diversification within F. verrucosus occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene, and there is evidence for niche divergence between a southwestern and southeastern clade, in a region of Madagascar that shows no obvious landscape barriers to dispersal. Diversification in F. oustaleti occurred earlier in the Pliocene or Miocene, and niche conservatism is supported with two genetically distinct clades separated at the Sofia River in northwestern Madagascar. Divergence within F. verrucosus is most consistent with patterns expected from ecologically mediated speciation, whereas divergence in F. oustaleti most strongly matches the patterns expected from the riverine barrier hypothesis.
Highlights
The chameleons Furcifer oustaleti (Malagasy giant chameleon) and Furcifer verrucosus (Warty chameleon) are both CITES species that are among the world’s largest chameleons
All 129 individuals of F. oustaleti and F. verrucosus were amplified for 4 loci (303 bp of ND2, 647 bp of ND4, 726 bp of RAG1, and 611 bp of CMOS)
The topology of the mitochondrial tree (Fig 1A) is congruent across Bayesian inference (BI), maximum likelihood (ML), and maximum parsimony (MP), and support values are above branches (BI posterior support/ML bootstrap/MP bootstrap)
Summary
The chameleons Furcifer oustaleti (Malagasy giant chameleon) and Furcifer verrucosus (Warty chameleon) are both CITES species that are among the world’s largest chameleons. These two species are morphologically similar and are often misidentified in the field, which has resulted in unclear species range limits. F. oustaleti and F. verrucosus are ideal species for a phylogeographic study because they are both endemic to Madagascar, broadly distributed, and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0154144. Phylogeography of Malagasy Giant Chameleons design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript F. oustaleti and F. verrucosus are ideal species for a phylogeographic study because they are both endemic to Madagascar, broadly distributed, and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0154144 June 3, 2016
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