The Arabian Peninsula is an interesting area for research. This area has a complex geological history, a range of habitats and a number of known endemic species. However, to date, this area and its associated biodiversity has been poorly studied. The aims of this study were to investigate the phylogeography and to determine the species delimitation of a selected number of lizard species from the Arabian Peninsula.
The phylogeography of fourteen co-distributed lizard species occurring within the Arabian Peninsula was investigated using a multispecies tree in STAR BEAST (*BEAST) to determine the divergence times and spatial patterns of the co-distributed species. Several common spatial and temporal
patterns were identified among the different Arabian Peninsula species.
The common patterns indicated close phylogeographic relationships between different regions and species. Importantly, these common patterns also corresponded to historical biogeographic processes. A wide range of
ecological habitats was also detected for these groups of lizards and this was assumed to play a major role in establishing the current diversity and distribution patterns.In addition to detecting common patterns, this study also provided valuable information about the unique
phylogeographical patterns shown by some of the studied species. Finally, this study also revealed patterns that provided strong evidence for the presence of multiple cryptic species within a species complex. Species delimitation methods were subsequently applied to two species that had
previously demonstrated the potential for cryptic species within Acanthodactylus boskianus and A. opheodurus. Using a combined approach of genetic distance , allele networks, and Bayesian Phylogenetic and Phylogeography (BPP) analysis, this study was able to identify candidate species within A. boskianus and A. opheodurus. The mitochondrial DNA tree revealed potential candidate clades within these two species. These candidate species clades were then further examined at two nuclear loci and
congruence was observed between the two markers for these clades. This congruence between mitochondrial and nuclear loci strongly indicates the discovery of several new species within A. boskianus and A. opheodurus, however further research is needed to confirm this discovery.
In conclusion, this study provides the most detailed insight -to date - on the phylogeography and species delimitation of Arabian Peninsula lizards and provides the most up to date assessment of the diversity of the lizards in this
important region.