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Molecular data suggest that melanistic ectotherms at the south-western tip of Africa are the products of Miocene climatic events: evidence from cordylid lizards by S. R. Daniels; P. le F. N. Mouton; D. A. Du Toit is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

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## Abstract In the present study the evolutionary relationships among __Cordylus____niger–oelofseni–cordylus__ are investigated using molecular sequence data to: (1) estimate the divergence within this group; (2) date the origin of melanism in the clade and to evaluate possible palaeoecological events responsible for its evolution; (3) examine the systematic relationships among the three isolated populations of __C. oelofseni__ that were previously shown to be polyphyletic using allozyme data. The recovered topology for the combined sequence data (16S and NADH dehydrogenase component 2 (ND2)) among __C__. __niger–oelofseni–cordylus__ suggests that melanism evolved only once in the clade. The application of a molecular clock to the data demonstrates that melanism evolved during the Miocene epoch, 17–15 million years ago. We believe that the development of a cold‐water current and upwelling system along the south‐west coast of Africa during this epoch was instrumental in the evolution of melanism in this lizard clade and possibly also in other ectotherm clades with melanistic forms occurring in the area. The results show that __C. oelofseni__, as presently construed, is composed of t

Who reads Molecular data suggest that melanistic ectotherms at the south-western tip of Africa are the products of Miocene climatic events: evidence from cordylid lizards?

Author

S. R. Daniels; P. le F. N. Mouton; D. A. Du Toit

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons; Wiley (Blackwell Publishing); Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley (ISSN 0952-8369)

Published

2004

Language

EN

ISBN

9780952836902

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)