Carranza S, Arnold E N, Mateo J A, López-Jurado L F
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2001 Aug 7;268(1476):1595-603. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2001.1699.
The scincid lizards of the Cape Verde islands comprise the extinct endemic giant Macroscincus coctei and at least five species of Mabuya, one of which, Mabuya vaillanti, also had populations with large body size. Phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences derived from the mitochondrial cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I and 12S rRNA genes (711, 498 and 378 base pairs (bp), respectively) corroborates morphological evidence that these species constitute a clade and that Macroscincus is unrelated to very large skinks in other areas. The relationships are ((M. vaillanti and Mabuya delalandii) (Mabuya spinalis and Macroscincus coctei (Mabuya fogoensis nicolauensis (Mabuya fogoensis antaoensis and Mabuya stangeri)))). The Cape Verde archipelago was colonized from West Africa, probably in the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene period. The north-eastern islands were probably occupied first, after which the ancestor of M. vaillanti and M. delalandii may have originated on Boavista, the ancestor of the latter species arriving on Santiago or Fogo later. The M. fogoensis--M. stangeri clade colonized the islands of Branco, Razo, Santa Luzia and São Vicente from São Nicolau and reached Santo Antão after this. Colonization of these northeastern islands was slow, perhaps because the recipient islands had not developed earlier or because colonization cut across the path of the Canary Current and the Northeast Trade Winds, the main dispersing agents in the region. Rapid extension of range into the southwestern islands occurred later in M. spinalis and then in M. vaillanti and M. delalandii. The long apparent delay between the origin of these species and their southwestern dispersal may have been because there were earlier colonizations of the southern islands which excluded later ones until the earlier inhabitants were exterminated by volcanic or climatic events. The evolution of large size in Macroscincus occurred in the northwestern islands and was paralleled in the eastern and southern islands by populations of M. vaillanti. Both cases of size increase in Cape Verde skinks were accompanied by the development of herbivory.
佛得角群岛的石龙子蜥蜴包括已灭绝的地方性巨型科氏巨蜥（Macroscincus coctei）以及至少五种麻蜥属（Mabuya）蜥蜴，其中一种，即瓦氏麻蜥（Mabuya vaillanti），也有体型较大的种群。基于线粒体细胞色素b、细胞色素氧化酶I和12S rRNA基因（分别为711、498和378个碱基对）的DNA序列进行的系统发育分析，证实了形态学证据，即这些物种构成一个进化枝，并且巨蜥属与其他地区的大型石龙子蜥蜴没有亲缘关系。其亲缘关系为（（瓦氏麻蜥和德拉兰麻蜥（Mabuya delalandii））（斯氏麻蜥（Mabuya spinalis）和科氏巨蜥（Macroscincus coctei（福戈麻蜥（Mabuya fogoensis）尼古劳亚种（Mabuya fogoensis nicolauensis）（福戈麻蜥安陶亚种（Mabuya fogoensis antaoensis）和斯坦格麻蜥（Mabuya stangeri）））））。佛得角群岛是在晚中新世或早上新世时期从西非殖民而来的。东北部岛屿可能首先被占据，此后瓦氏麻蜥和德拉兰麻蜥的祖先可能起源于博阿维斯塔岛，后一种的祖先后来到达圣地亚哥岛或福戈岛。福戈麻蜥 - 斯坦格麻蜥进化枝从圣尼古拉岛殖民到布兰科岛、拉佐岛、圣卢西亚岛和圣维森特岛，并在此之后到达圣安唐岛。这些东北部岛屿的殖民进程缓慢，可能是因为接收岛屿此前未得到充分发展，或者是因为殖民跨越了该地区主要的扩散媒介——加那利洋流和东北信风的路径。后来，斯氏麻蜥，然后是瓦氏麻蜥和德拉兰麻蜥迅速向西南岛屿扩展分布范围。这些物种起源与其向西南扩散之间明显的长时间延迟，可能是因为南部岛屿早期已有其他物种殖民，这些早期居民在被火山或气候事件灭绝之前，排除了后来的物种。巨蜥属大型化的进化发生在西北部岛屿，而在东部和南部岛屿，瓦氏麻蜥的种群也出现了类似情况。佛得角石龙子蜥蜴的两种体型增大情况都伴随着食草习性的发展。
