Phylogenetic Studies of Southern African Reptiles

Phylogenetic research in Southern African reptiles integrates mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and to unravel patterns of lineage diversification across diverse habitats. Studies span multiple clades, including lizards, snakes and chelonians, and span temporal scales from the Miocene to the present. Major drivers of diversification have been identified as climatic oscillations, biome shifts and geographic barriers such as the Cape Fold Mountains and the influence of the Benguela current. These analyses have revealed extensive cryptic diversity, paraphyly in traditional genera and distinct cladogenic events, informing both systematic revisions and the delineation of conservation units. Southern Africa thus serves as a model region for understanding how historical environmental change shapes reptile evolution, with implications for global biodiversity assessment and the management of threatened lineages.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Phylogenetic Studies of Southern African Reptiles publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in phylogenetic studies of southern african reptiles across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Phylogenetic tree: A branching diagram representing inferred evolutionary relationships among species or populations based on genetic data.

Mitogenome: The complete mitochondrial genome, a circular DNA molecule inherited maternally and widely used in phylogenetic analyses.

Clade: A monophyletic group comprising an ancestor and all its descendants.

Phylogeography: The study of historical processes—such as dispersal and vicariance—that shape the geographic distribution of genetic lineages.

Molecular marker: A specific DNA sequence or locus used to detect genetic variation and infer evolutionary relationships.

Cladogenesis: The evolutionary process by which a lineage splits into two or more distinct lineages.

References

1. The efficacy of single mitochondrial genes at reconciling the complete mitogenome phylogeny—a case study on dwarf chameleons. PeerJ (2024).
2. Between the Cape Fold Mountains and the deep blue sea: Comparative phylogeography of selected codistributed ectotherms reveals asynchronous cladogenesis. Evolutionary Applications (2022).
3. Phylogeny and phylogeography of chelonians from sub-Saharan Africa—A review of current knowledge in tribute to Margaretha D. Hofmeyr. Vertebrate Zoology (2022).
4. Climatic and topographic changes since the Miocene influenced the diversification and biogeography of the tent tortoise (Psammobates tentorius) species complex in Southern Africa. BMC Ecology and Evolution (2020).
5. Molecular evidence for cryptic species in the common slug eating snake Duberria lutrix lutrix (Squamata, Lamprophiidae) from South Africa. ZooKeys (2019).
6. Phylogeographic structuring in a widespread southern African grass snake (Psammophiinae: Psammophylax rhombeatus). African Journal of Herpetology (2024).