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Introduction
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January 2009 - August 2015
Publications
Publications (124)
The distribution of herpetofauna on the Arabian Peninsula is generally poorly known, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The King Abdul-Aziz Royal Reserve (KARNR) in north-eastern Saudi Arabia is located in an area predicted to have high reptile species richness, yet there is no baseline reptile checklist for the reserve. Understanding what species occur...
The taxonomy of many Hemidactylus geckos from the Horn of Africa has recently been evaluated. However, the lack offresh material for some species and also regions has led to the misidentification of some taxa and an underestimationof the true diversity in others. In this study we analyse new material of Hemidactylus collected from poorly knowncoast...
Advances in genomics have greatly enhanced our understanding of mountain biodiversity, providing new insights into the complex and dynamic mechanisms that drive the formation of mountain biotas. These span from broad biogeographic patterns to population dynamics and adaptations to these environments. However, significant challenges remain in integr...
Discovery rates of new species are uneven across taxonomic groups and regions, with distinctive and widely distributed species being more readily described than species with secretive habits. The genus Rhynchocalamus includes five species of secretive snakes distributed from Egypt eastwards to Iran, including the Arabian Peninsula. A wide biogeogra...
Aim
Deserts represent dynamic ecosystems that support communities of endemic and specialised species. We analysed the role of present and past climatic conditions in shaping the distribution of the widespread Bunopus geckos in the Arabian and south‐west Asian deserts. We studied their phylogeographic and demographic history to test whether the Buno...
The desert vipers of the genus Cerastes are a small clade of medically important venomous snakes within the family Viperidae. According to published morphological and molecular studies, the group is comprised by four species: two morphologically similar and phylogenetically sister taxa, the African horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) and the Arabian h...
A recent molecular phylogeny of the agamid genus Pseudotrapelus , distributed in the rocky areas of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, revealed the presence of a genetically distinct lineage around the city of Riyadh in central Saudi Arabia. With the inclusion of additional specimens, we were able to describe this lineage as a new species, P....
Biodiversity is distributed unevenly among lineages and regions, and understanding the processes generating these global patterns is a central goal in evolutionary research, particularly in light of the current biodiversity crisis. Here, we integrate phylogenetic relatedness with species diversity patterns in four major clades of living tetrapods (...
The desert vipers of the genus Cerastes are a small clade of medically important venomous snakes within the family Viperidae. According to published morphological and molecular studies, the group is comprised by four species: two morphologically similar and phylogenetically sister taxa, the African horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) and the Arabian h...
DNA metabarcoding is widely used for diet characterization and is becoming increasingly
important for biodiversity conservation, allowing the understanding of trophic networks and
community assemblies. However, to our knowledge, few studies have used this approach to
investigate trophic interactions for whole communities and none for reptiles. In p...
The biological diversity of the Horn of Africa is one of the least studied in the world. Yet the Horn supports rich communities of species that are mostly endemic to the region. Here we study the diversity of Sand Snakes ( Psammophis ) in East Africa, their phylogeny and systematics. Previous studies have unveiled several cryptic and potentially un...
Advances in genomics have greatly enhanced our understanding of mountain biodiversity, providing new insights into the complex and dynamic mechanisms that drive the formation of mountain biotas. These include from broad biogeographic patterns, to population dynamics and adaptations to these environments. However, significant challenges remain in in...
Protected Areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. Here, we collated distributional data for >14,000 (~70% of) species of amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) to perform a global assessment of the conserva- tion effectiveness of PAs using species distribution models. Our analyses reveal that >91% of herpetofauna species are c...
Check out our poster about the horned vipers of the genus Cerastes, where we found a new evolutionary history using genome-wide data!
Aim
Resolving the tree of life is among the greatest challenges for modern biology, yet genetic data for many species are lacking to infer their position in the tree with confidence. In fact, little is known about what the missing species are and where to look for them. I identify main hotspots that host the most unsampled vertebrate species and te...
The systematic, phylogenetic, and biogeographic aspects of the rich squamate fauna of the Arabian Peninsula are becoming increasingly well understood. The Arabian members of the gecko genus Hemidactylus, the most diverse genus among Arabian squamates, have been the subject of several phylogenetic revisions in recent years. However, large parts of t...
The family Buthidae represents an early-diverging and most species-rich lineage of extant scorpions, but its internal phylogenetic relationships are still poorly understood. The family is traditionally divided into six morpho-groups; however, the monophyly of some of them remains unclear. We combined multilocus sequence data with extensive taxon sa...
The geological and geographical settings of the Eastern Mediterranean have resulted in complex patterns of intraspecific diversifications and phylogeographical histories that can be observed in squamates. In this study, we examined genetic differentiation of the Collared dwarf racer (Platyceps collaris) using a multilocus genetic dataset with a sam...
There are currently 3,900 recognized, extant snake species belonging to 529 genera globally (Uetz et al. 2021; this study), making snakes one of the most diverse major groups of squamates. Of the 665 currently recognized species that were described between 2001 and 2020 (a ~17% increase in total species), ~34% of these (226 species) were described...
The geographic distribution of biodiversity is central to understanding evolutionary biology. Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic histories often help to explain how biogeographic patterns unfold through time. However, such patterns are also influenced by a variety of other factors, such as lineage diversification, that may affect the probability of...
Aim
Deserts are generally perceived as areas of low diversity, and hence receive little attention from researchers and conservationists. Squamates are the dominant group of vertebrates in arid regions, and as such represent an ideal model to study biodiversity patterns in these areas. We examine spatial patterns of diversity, evolutionary history a...
Geckos of the genus Trigonodactylus are widely distributed in the sand deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Three species of this genus are currently recognized, with fourth Stenodactylus pulcher, which placement within Trigonodactylus has been tentatively suggested, but not yet confirmed. We present phylogenetic analysis of the genus Trigonodactylus...
Large parts of the Sahara Desert and Arabia are covered by sand seas and sand dunes, which are inhabited by specialized animal communities. For example, many lizards have developed adaptations to life in loose sand, including sand-swimming behavior. The best-known sand swimmers of the Saharo-Arabia are the sandfish skinks (genus Scincus). Although...
The geographic distribution of biodiversity is central to understanding evolutionary biology. Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic histories often help to explain how biogeographic patterns unfold through time. However, such patterns are also influenced by a variety of other factors, such as lineage diversification, that may affect the probability of...
The Horn of Africa supports a unique and rich diversity of squamate reptiles. Among them, the gecko genus Hemidactylus stands out as the most species-rich genus of the region. In this study, we assembled a genetic and morphological data set of 22 Hemidactylus species that form a clade termed the African radiation, which is part of the arid clade of...
A new record of the Midas free-tailed bat, Mops midas (Sundevall, 1843), from Saudi Arabia is presented. This new record is the northernmost occurrence point of this rare bat in Arabia (ca. 160 km NNW of the closest previous site) and also within its entire distribution range.
The family of sheath-tailed bats (Emballonuridae) constitutes a considerable part of the bat fauna of the Middle East. This region on the crossroad of three biogeographical realms represents the sole significant extension of the family range into the Palaearctic, otherwise the family is distributed mostly in the tropics. Three emballonurid species...
In the present study we use an unprecedented database of 5,535 distributional records to infer the diversity, ecological preferences and spatial distribution of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and use the 57 native species to test the effectiveness of the protected areas’ network in conserving this unique v...
Spatial data of the terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
Appendix including the spatial data of all the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the UAE in shapefile format.
(ZIP)
Main taxonomic groups observed.
Pie charts showing higher taxonomic composition of the UAE terrestrial reptile species (A) and the number of observations for each of the taxonomic groups used in this study (B). Numbers in parenthesis are the number of species (A) and observations (B).
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List of calibration points.
List of the 13 calibration points used to calibrate the phylogenetic tree of Squamata and including all the UAE terrestrial species. Each calibration point includes the author and all the parameters used to implement the calibration point in BEAST.
(PDF)
Observations map.
Map with all the 5,535 occurrence points of UAE terrestrial reptiles used in the present study. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Species richness maps of the medically important venomous species.
A) Venomous species richness by emirate inferred with the occurrence point data; B) Venomous species richness by a 10 arc-min grid inferred with the occurrence point data; C) Venomous species richness by emirate inferred with the species distribution models; D) Venomous species rich...
Time calibrated tree of Squamata obtained with BEAST.
Time calibrated tree based on the concatenated dataset of 15 genes and 146 species of Squamata including all 60 UAE terrestrial reptiles (highlighted in green) and one outgroup inferred with BEAST. The 13 calibration points are indicated as red circles and are labelled as in S2 Appendix which gi...
List of all the 146 species of reptiles included in the phylogenetic analyses.
For the UAE species the table includes species name, the country and specimen code.
(PDF)
Information on the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles for the whole country and independently for each emirate.
Number and percentage of the total number of species, threatened species and medically important venomous species based on presence data.
(PDF)
Loadings, eigenvalues, and variance explained by the two first components retained from the principal component analysis (PCA) performed on the 19 bioclimatic variables used in this study.
BIO1 = Annual Mean Temperature, BIO4 = Temperature Seasonality, BIO5 = Max Temperature of Warmest Month, BIO6 = Min Temperature of Coldest Month, BIO7 = Temperat...
Topoclimatic characterization of the UAE.
A) Map of annual mean temperature in °C (BIO1); B) Map of annual mean precipitation in mm (BIO12); C) Map of land cover types (as of 2008); D) Graph of the frequency of elevations divided into 100-m bins. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Maximum likelihood (ML) tree obtained with RaxML.
Phylogenetic tree based on the concatenated dataset of 15 genes and 146 species of Squamata including all 60 UAE terrestrial reptiles (highlighted in green) and one outgroup. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(TIF)
Correlation between species richness and phylogenetic diversity.
Points in the graph are cells of the 10 arc-min grid. The regression line was fitted using a linear model.
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Information on the dataset used for the phylogenetic analyses.
Gene composition, fragment lengths, partitions, models and run specifications for the different phylogenetic analyses are shown.
(PDF)
Area of occupancy (AOO) and species potential distribution (SPD) at 4 km2 of all 60 terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
Number of occupied 4 km2 cells for each approach, area occupied by each species for each approach. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(PDF)
Atlas of the terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
An appendix showing photographs, distribution and ecological preferences of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the UAE. Species distribution models (SDMs) inferred for each species are also included. Credits for maps: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(PDF)
Political map of the UAE.
Map showing the political borders of the UAE and among the seven emirates. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Checklist of the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles.
Table containing all the species recorded in this study grouped by families and higher taxa. The table contains information regarding the regional IUCN conservation category (yet unpublished) for all the species and indicates if they are endemic to the UAE and if it is a medically important v...
Information from the gap analysis with distribution records with the AOO approach.
List of all 60 UAE species, showing their regional IUCN conservation category, their area of occupancy, area of occupancy inside protected areas, and the percentage of area of occupancy inside protected areas. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species. The int...
Information from the gap analysis with distribution records with the species potential distribution (SPD) approach obtained with species distribution modeling (SDM).
List of all 60 species of the UAE, showing their regional IUCN conservation category, their SPD area, the SPD area inside protected areas, and the percentage of the SPD area inside pro...
Evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) of each of the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles.
The numbers show the evolutionary uniqueness of each species with respect to other UAE reptiles in millions of years. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(PDF)
Information on the protected areas of each emirate.
The table contains: the name of each emirate, the area of each emirate in km2; the number of protected areas that are inside each emirate; the area in km2 that is protected inside each emirate and the percentage of protected areas by emirate.
(PDF)
Scaling evolutionary trees to time is essential for understanding the origins of clades. Recently developed methods allow including the entire fossil record known for the group of interest and eliminated the need for specifying prior distributions for node ages. Here we apply the fossilized birth-death (FBD) approach to reconstruct the diversificat...
We describe a new arboreal genus and species of the family Gymnophthalmidae, subfamily Cercosaurinae, from Peru on the basis of genetic and morphological characters. Dendrosauridion gen. n. can be distinguished morphologically from all other genera of Cercosaurinae by having the lower palpebral disc transparent and undivided, dorsal scales smooth,...
Geckos are one of the most species‐rich, abundant, and widely distributed of all Squamata lineages and present several characteristics that have made them favorite model organisms for biogeographical, ecological, physiological, and evolutionary studies. One of the key aspects of any comparative study is to have a robust, comprehensive phylogeny, an...
Telescopus pulcher is an enigmatic colubrid snake only known from the holotype and paratype specimens described from ‘Migiurtinia’ in Puntland (Somalia) in 1935. Herein we recorded the third and fourth-ever known specimens of this species from the Toon village, Woqooyi Galbeed Region, and 15 km southeast of Sheikh, Saahil Region, Somaliland. The sp...
Cercosaurine lizards (subfamily Cercosaurinae of the family Gymnophthalmidae) represent a substantial component of the reptile fauna in the Neotropics. Several attempts have been made to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships within this group, but most studies focused on particular genera or regions and did not cover the subfamily as a whole....
Supplementary phylogenetic trees and table of analysed samples
Pachydactylus is the most species-rich reptile genus in southern Africa. Most species are habitat specialists adapted to hyper-arid conditions of the Namibian and north-western South African xeric regions. Although a fair number of phylogenetic studies and taxonomic revisions have been published, some species still remain rather enigmatic. In the t...
In the present work, we use an exceptional database including 5,359 records of 101 species of Oman’s terrestrial reptiles together with spatial tools to infer the spatial patterns of species richness and endemicity, to infer the habitat preference of each species and to better define conservation priorities, with especial focus on the effectiveness...
Mesalina are small lacertid lizards occurring in the Saharo-Sindian deserts from North Africa to the east of the Iranian plateau. Earlier phylogenetic studies indicated that there are several species complexes within the genus and that thorough taxonomic revisions are needed. In this study, we aim at resolving the phylogeny and taxonomy of the M. b...
Background
The colubrid snakes of the genus Rhynchocalamus are seldom studied and knowledge of their ecology and life history is scarce. Three species of Rhynchocalamus are currently recognized, R. satunini (from Turkey eastwards to Iran), R. arabicus (Yemen and Oman), and R. melanocephalus (from the Sinai Peninsula northwards to Turkey). All are s...
Information on the phylogenetic analyses
(A) Species-set A; (B) species-set B; (C) species-set C.
Morphological dataset of all examined specimens of Rhynchocalamus
Taxon names correspond to changes proposed in this paper. Specimens used in the genetic analyses (genetic; n = 26) are presented in Fig. 1. (*) Specimens of R. melanocephalus from the Negev region in Israel (n = 9). Dataset of the mensural characters is presented in millimetres. Meri...
Results of the mPTP species delimitation analysis
The Analysis was based on haplotype mtDNA (dataset 4). Asterisk indicates representatives used for the divergence time estimation analysis. Sample codes correlate to specimens in Table S1 and in Figs. 1–2,Tables S1–S3.
For review only
For review only
Statistical results of the morphological dataset
P-values in bold indicate high level of statistical significance. Abbreviations of each morphological variable, as in Table S3, are listed in the Material and Methods section.
Data on the genetic datasets and the genetic distance within Rhynchocalamus
Taxon names correspond to changes proposed in this paper. (A) Rhynchocalamus dataset. Localities for Rhynchocalamus are presented in Fig. 1. (*) Specimen used for the morphological examinations; (i) Haplotypes used for the species delimitation analyses (n = 28); (ii) Repres...