biostudies-literatureBaier FHoward Hughes Medical Institute International Student Research Fellowship132https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC5466720biostudies-literatureUnknown17(1)<h4>Background</h4>Many animal and plant species in the Middle East and northern Africa have a predominantly longitudinal distribution, extending from Iran and Turkey along the eastern Mediterranean coast into northern Africa. These species are potentially characterized by longitudinal patterns of biological diversity, but little is known about the underlying biogeographic mechanisms and evolutionary timescales. We examined these questions in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus, one such species with a roughly longitudinal distribution across the Middle East and northern Africa, by analyzing range-wide patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and multi-trait morphological variation.<h4>Results</h4>The striped skink exhibits a basic longitudinal organization of mtDNA diversity, withBMC evolutionary biologyPre-Quaternary divergence and subsequent radiation explain longitudinal patterns of genetic and morphological variation in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus.PMC5466720NASchmitz ASauer-Gurth HBaier FWink MfalsePre-Quaternary divergence and subsequent radiation explain longitudinal patterns of genetic and morphological variation in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus.<h4>Background</h4>Many animal and plant species in the Middle East and northern Africa have a predominantly longitudinal distribution, extending from Iran and Turkey along the eastern Mediterranean coast into northern Africa. These species are potentially characterized by longitudinal patterns of biological diversity, but little is known about the underlying biogeographic mechanisms and evolutionary timescales. We examined these questions in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus, one such species with a roughly longitudinal distribution across the Middle East and northern Africa, by analyzing range-wide patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and multi-trait morphological variation.<h4>Results</h4>The striped skink exhibits a basic longitudinal organization of mtDNA diversity, with2017-01-01T00:00:00Z2017 Jun2026-05-03T01:05:29.163Z2019-03-27T02:47:19ZS-EPMC54667202859962710.1186/s12862-017-0969-0