Resolving the phylogeny of lizards and snakes (Squamata) with extensive sampling of genes and species.

ABSTRACT: Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are one of the most diverse groups of terrestrial vertebrates. Recent molecular analyses have suggested a very different squamate phylogeny relative to morphological hypotheses, but many aspects remain uncertain from molecular data. Here, we analyse higher-level squamate phylogeny with a molecular dataset of unprecedented size, including 161 squamate species for up to 44 nuclear genes each (33 717 base pairs), using both concatenated and species-tree methods for the first time. Our results strongly resolve most squamate relationships and reveal some surprising results. In contrast to most other recent studies, we find that dibamids and gekkotans are together the sister group to all other squamates. Remarkably, we find that the distinctive scolecophidi

SUBMITTER: Wiens JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3497141 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature