Salvador Carranza

Institute of Evolutionary Biology | IBE · Animal Biodiversity and Evolution

Aim We assess the systematic relationships and historical biogeographic patterns in the subfamily Scincinae, a group of lizards that primarily inhabits the Afro‐Madagascan and Saharo‐Arabian regions with isolated lineages in Europe, North America, East Asia, India and Sri Lanka. The contemporary distribution of these lineages on the historical Laur...

Snake genomes attract significant attention from multiple disciplines, including medicine, drug bioprospection, and evolutionary biology, due to the unique features found in snakes, especially, the evolution of venom. However, genomic research within the family Viperidae has mostly focused to date on the subfamily Crotalinae, while overlooking Vipe...

Emerging fungus and virus of amphibians detected in the Montnegre Natural Parc (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain).

Recognizing the influence of pathogen diversity on infection dynamics is crucial for mitigating emerging infectious diseases. Characterising such diversity is often complex, for instance when multiple pathogen variants exist that interact differently with the environment and host. Here, we explore genotypic and phenotypic variation of Batrachochytr...

Among geckos, an ideal group to investigate the roles of population dynamics and ecological adaptation in species diversification are semaphore geckos of the genus Pristurus. Numerous ecologically diverse species can be found across Afro-Arabia. On the one hand, strong environmental gradients promoting ecological speciation are present; on the othe...

Venoms have traditionally been studied from a proteomic and/or transcriptomic perspective, often overlooking the true genetic complexity underlying venom production. The recent surge in genome-based venom research (sometimes called venomics) has proven to be instrumental in deepening our molecular understanding of venom evolution, particularly thro...

The Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project (CBP) is an EBP-affiliated project network aimed at sequencing the genome of the >40 000 eukaryotic species estimated to live in the Catalan-speaking territories (Catalan Linguistic Area, CLA). These territories represent a biodiversity hotspot. While covering less than 1% of Europe, they are h...

Human-mediated habitat destruction has had a profound impact on increased species extinction rates and population declines worldwide. The coastal development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the last two decades, serves as an example of how habitat transformation can alter the landscape of a country in just a few years. Here, we study the gen...

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...

The Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi), a glacial relict endemic to a small, isolated massif in northeast Spain, is considered the only Critically Endangered urodele in Europe. Its restricted range is divided by a deep valley that acts as an impassable barrier to dispersal, separating two isolated metapopulations (Western and Eastern) that co...

Hyperarid habitats comprise the most dominant and harsh portion of the Sahara Desert, yet how local biotas have responded to paleoclimatic shifts and landscape heterogeneity remains unclear. Here, we assess the historical biogeography of Cerastes cerastes, a conspicuous but poorly known vertebrate inhabiting the hyperarid Sahara, to understand the...

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...

Predation of a tadpole of the Arabian toad by water scorpion.

Defensive mechanism by the Crowned leaf-nosed Snake displaying a cobra-like mimicry.

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....

Among the diverse habitats of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 60 terrestrial reptiles and 2 amphibian species have been recorded, of which 1 is endemic to the country, 59 are native and 3 are introduced. The highest diversity is in the northeast of the country and the highest level of endemism is within the Hajar Mountains which are shared between...

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...

Species living in distinct habitats often experience unique ecological selective pressures, which can drive phenotypic divergence. However, how ecophenotypic patterns are affected by allometric trends and trait integration levels is less well understood. Here we evaluate the role of allometry in shaping body size and body form diversity in Pristuru...

This research focuses on understanding the evolutionary history, dispersal patterns and diversification of amphibians and reptiles in the Strait of Gibraltar region. By analyzing Ultraconserved Elements (UCEs) from six amphibian and six reptile species, we highlight clear separations between Iberian and African populations, multiple colonization ev...

In endangered species, low-genetic variation and inbreeding result from recent population declines. Genetic screenings in endangered populations help to assess their vulnerability to extinction and to create informed management actions toward their conservation efforts. The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a highly generalist predator with currently ei...

With the advent of molecular phylogenetics and the implementation of Multispecies Coalescent-based (MSC) species delimitation methods (SDM), the number of taxonomic studies unveiling and describing cryptic sibling species has greatly increased. However, speciation between early divergent lineages is often defined without evaluating population struc...

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...

With the advent of molecular phylogenetics, the number of taxonomic studies unveiling and describing cryptic diversity has greatly increased. However, speciation between cryptic lineages is often defined without evaluating population structure or gene flow, which can lead to false claims of species status and, subsequently, taxonomic inflation. In...

Species living in distinct habitats often experience unique ecological selective pressures, which can drive phenotypic divergence. However, how ecophenotypic patterns are affected by allometric trends and trait integration levels is less well understood. Here we evaluate the role of allometry in shaping body size and shape diversity in Pristurus ge...

Low genetic variation and high levels of inbreeding are usually a consequence of recent population declines in endangered species. From a conservation point of view, it is essential to genetically screen endangered populations to help assess their vulnerability to extinction and to properly create informed management actions towards their conservat...

Check out our poster about the horned vipers of the genus Cerastes, where we found a new evolutionary history using genome-wide data!

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...

Aim Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the Earth’s surface, even among physiographically comparable biomes in different biogeographic regions. For lizards, the world’s large desert regions are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in species richness, spanning some of the most species‐rich (arid Australia) and species‐poor (central A...

Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than continental taxa. However, empirical evidence has uncovered exceptions to this ‘island effect’. Here, we tested this pattern using the geckos of the genus Pristurus from continental Arabia and Africa and the Socotra Archipelago. Using a recently publis...

While emerging fungi threaten global biodiversity, the paucity of fungal genome assemblies impedes thoroughly characterizing epidemics and developing effective mitigation strategies. Here, we generate de novo genomic assemblies for six outbreaks of the emerging pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ( Bsal ). We reveal the European epidemic cur...

We report a novel hybrid, molecular and elemental mass spectrometry (MS) setup for the absolute quantification of snake venom proteomes shown here for two desert black cobra species within the genus Walterinnesia, Walterinnesia aegyptia and Walterinnesia morgani. The experimental design includes the decomplexation of the venom samples by reverse-ph...

The skink genus Lobulia is endemic to New Guinea, the largest and highest tropical island in the world. Lobulia and its related genera represent an important component of the montane herpetofauna of New Guinea, but it remains understudied and poorly known. We here provide the first, large-scale, systematic revision of Lobulia, using molecular phylo...

Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than their continental sister taxa. However, empirical evidence shows that exceptions to the familiar "island rule" do exist. In this study, we tested this rule using a nearly complete sampled mainland-island system, the genus Pristurus, a group of sphaerod...

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...

Aim Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the Earth’s surface, even among physiographically comparable biomes in different biogeographic regions. For lizards, the world’s large desert regions are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in species richness, spanning some of the most species-rich (arid Australia) and species-poor (central A...

Plate tectonics constitute one of the main mechanisms of biological diversification on Earth, often being associated with cladogenetic events at different phylogenetic levels, as well as with exchange of faunas and floras across previously isolated biogeographic regions. North Africa and Arabia share a complex geological history that dates back to...

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...

Effective biodiversity conservation planning starts with genetic characterization within and among focal populations, in order to understand the likely impact of threats for ensuring the long-term viability of a species. The Wonder Gecko, Teratoscincus keyserlingii, is one of nine members of the genus. This species is distributed in Iran, Afghanist...

Field guide to the reptiles of Oman.

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...

Wildlife diseases are contributing to the current Earth's sixth mass extinction; one disease, chytridiomycosis, has caused mass amphibian die-offs. While global spread of a hypervirulent lineage of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BdGPL) causes unprecedented loss of vertebrate diversity by decimating amphibian populations, its impact on a...

Although parasites represent a major component of biodiversity, they remain poorly assessed, especially in remote regions. In this study, we screened 461 reptiles from Socotra, the largest and most biologically diverse archipelago in Arabia. Using 18S rRNA primers, we detected various apicomplexan parasites, namely haemogregarines, sarcocystids, an...

The Socotra Archipelago is a unique hotspot of biodiversity, particularly for terrestrial reptiles (28 endemic out of 31 native species) whose ecology is known only in general terms. We describe the ecological preference and the daily activity of 21 species of terrestrial reptiles, geckos, lizards, skinks, snakes and chameleon, from the largest isl...

Umbrella species are defined as species that can be rare and sensitive to human disturbance, whose protection may confer the protection of other co-occurring species. The dragon’s blood tree Dracaena cinnabari Balf.f. was already considered an umbrella species on Socotra Island (Indic Ocean, Yemen) due to its ecological importance for some native b...

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...

The genus Psammodromus (Lacertidae) comprises six species. Three of the species are morphologically similar, phylogenetically closely related, and are distributed in the Iberian Peninsula (besides P. algirus): P. occidentalis (Western Iberia), P. hispanicus (Central Spain), and P. edwarsianus (Eastern Spain). Previous studies have shown these three...

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has caused the most prominent loss of vertebrate diversity ever recorded, which peaked in the 1980s. Recent incursion by its sister species B. salamandrivorans in Europe raised the alarm for a new wave of declines and extinctions in western Palearctic urodeles. The European Commission has responded...

New Guinea, the world's largest and highest tropical island, has a rich but poorly known biota. Papuascincus is a genus of skinks endemic to New Guinea's mountain regions, comprising two wide-ranging species and two species known only from their type series. The phylogeny of the genus has never been examined and the relationships among its species...

Biosecurity, an Essential Tool for Amphibians’ Conservation The detection in the last two years of highly-infective amphibian pathogens in a few localities in El Montnegre i el Corredor Nature Park has triggered all the alarms, making it necessary to modify the amphibian monitoring protocols in order to prevent their dispersal to other localities...

Managing an Amphibian Population in El Montnegre i el Corredor Park to Contain and Eliminate an Outbreak of the Fungus Batrachochytrium salamadrivorans (Bsal) In 2018, the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) was detected in a reservoir in El Montnegre i el Corredor Park, resulting in a high mortality rate of the marbled newt (T...

Distribution, Systematics and Origin of Amphibian Species Introduced into El Montnegre i el Corredor Nature Park Over the past decades, over-exploitation, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, pollution and, more recently, climate change and emerging diseases have led to a catastrophic decline in the number and size of vertebrate spe...

Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was acco...

The Corsica-Sardinia archipelago provides a simplified model for studying the response of insular and coastal temperate biotas to the cyclic contraction-expansion of habitats associated to Pleistocene climate and sea-level oscillations. We investigated the phylogeography and historical demography of the Leaf-toed Gecko Euleptes europaea using both...

Almost 20% of Oman’s terrestrial reptiles are found on Masirah Island. Despite its ancient geological history and its long isolation, Masirah Island only harbours one endemic reptile species, Hemidactylus masirahensis. In this study, we use an integrative approach to explore the variation in Pristurus minimus, to revise its systematics and to asses...

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). (TIF)