Color Polymorphism is a Driver of Diversification in the Lizard Family Lacertidae.

ABSTRACT: Color polymorphism-two or more heritable color phenotypes maintained within a single breeding population-is an extreme type of intraspecific diversity widespread across the tree of life. Color polymorphism is hypothesized to be an engine for speciation, where morph loss or divergence between distinct color morphs within a species results in the rapid evolution of new lineages, and thus, color polymorphic lineages are expected to display elevated diversification rates. Multiple species in the lizard family Lacertidae are color polymorphic, making them an ideal group to investigate the evolutionary history of this trait and its influence on macroevolution. Here, we produce a comprehensive species-level phylogeny of the lizard family Lacertidae to reconstruct the evolutionary history of color

SUBMITTER: Brock KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8677543 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature