Abstract
Intraspecific phylogeography of the long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii) was examined using 419 base pairs of sequence of the mitochondrially encoded COIII gene from 23 individuals sampled from populations representing five regional deserts in western North America. Intraspecific population structure was evaluated under two biogeographic models: (1) gene flow among populations during late Pleistocene to Recent times, possibly in conjunction with range expansions from Pleistocene refugia; or (2) subdivision among southwestern desert regions that occurred in conjunction with late Pliocene/early Pleistocene geological events or as a result of isolation in separate Pleistocene refugia. Phylogenetic analysis indicated subdivision of 18 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes into two major clades separated by approximately 6.1% sequence divergence: Western (Mojave + Great Basin + Colorado Plateau deserts) and Eastern (Chihuahuan desert). A third, more divergent, lineage with unknown geographic distribution was represented by a single haplotype from southwestern Arizona. The Western clade contained two northern Great Basin subclusters (eastern Great Basin and western Great Basin), representing populations separated from one another by approximately 5.4% sequence divergence. These phylogeographic breaks are consistent with the second model of late Pliocene/early Pleistocene vicariance. These data are also consistent with assessments of the biogeographic histories of several other arid-dwelling vertebrates.
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