Abstract
Convergence is a pervasive phenomenon in the Tree of Life, and evolution of similar phenotypes sharing the same environmental conditions is expected in phylogenetically closely related species. In contrast, contingent factors are probably more influential in shaping phenotypic diversity for distantly related taxa. Here, we test putative convergent evolution of lizard head morphologies among relatively closely related desert dwelling Liolaemus species, and the very distantly related Ctenoblepharys adspersa. We estimated a multilocus time‐calibrated phylogeny of 57 species of South American liolaemus lizards, based on seven molecular markers. We collected head shape data for 468 specimens, and used three phylogenetic comparative methods (SURFACE, CONVEVOL, and WHEATSHEAF index) to test for and estimate the strength of convergence. We found strong evidence for convergence among Pacific desert lizard C. adspersa, Liolaemus audivetulatus, Liolaemus insolitus, Liolaemus poconchilensis, Liolaemus stolzmanni, and a candidate species (Liolaemus “Moquegua”). Our results suggest that, despite the long divergence and phylogenetic distance of C. adspersa with respect to convergent Liolaemus species, natural selection was probably more important than historical contingency in shaping phenotypic evolution in these desert lizards.
Highlights
We test for convergence in South American desert lizards of the Liolaemus montanus group (Figure 1)
| 11407 convergence implies that natural selection has produced the same phenotype in similar environments in unrelated taxa (Losos, 2011)
Constraints imposed by an‐ cestors are enforced by natural selection and by the circum‐ stances under which organisms develop and evolve (Vermeij, 2015)
Summary
We test for convergence in South American desert lizards of the Liolaemus montanus group (Figure 1). Other species and populations have a similar toad‐like head, but lack the pronounced serrated combs These “phrynosau‐ roid” lizards and similar forms inhabit the extremely arid desert en‐ vironments (mean annual rainfall ~1–15 mm) of the South American Pacific coast (Rundel, Villagra, Dillon, Roig‐Juñent, & Debandi, 2007), in contrast to the remaining, mostly Andean, species of the L. monta‐ nus group. These species resemble distantly related taxa present in the same arid deserts, the monotypic Ctenoblepharys ad‐ spersa (Tschudi, 1845) (Liolaemidae)
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