Phylogeographic and phenotypic divergence between two subspecies of Testudo graeca (T. g. buxtoni and T. g. zarudnyi) across their contact zone in Iran.

ABSTRACT: Contact zones are considered as windows into the evolutionary process, allowing identification of factors influencing the evolutionary forces. Here, we combined phylogenetic and morphometric analyses to explore the evolutionary process affecting the taxonomic pattern of two subspecies of Testudo graeca (T. g. buxtoni and T. g. zarudnyi) across their contact zone in Central Iran. Our results showed high levels of phylogeographic and phenotypic variation in the contact zone. Two monophyletic clades including, clade 1 (T. g. zarudnyi) and clade 2 (T. g. buxtoni) were identified. Furthermore, four distinct subclades were found in T. g. buxtoni, across a wide geographic range. Divergence time analysis suggests that the two subspecies diverged from one another after the uplifting of the Zagros M

SUBMITTER: Ranjbar N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9363490 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature