Am Nat. 2019 Aug;194(2):168-182. doi: 10.1086/704059. Epub 2019 Jun 24.
Animals use mating traits to compete for, attract, and choose mates. Because mating traits influence mate choice, the divergence of mating traits between populations can result in reproductive isolation. This can occur without associated morphological divergence, producing reproductively isolated cryptic species that are visually indistinguishable. Thus, identifying the mating traits in morphologically conservative groups is key to resolving diversity and speciation processes. Lizards contain many such groups, with phylogeographic studies often revealing highly divergent but morphologically cryptic lineages within species. Considering that cryptic lizard species can be sympatric but morphologically indistinguishable, we hypothesize that candidate species will exhibit divergent pheromones and that pheromones will have typically diverged more than morphology. To test this, we used gas chromatography to characterize pheromones (epidermal pore secretions) from 10 genetically divergent lineages of the Bynoe's gecko () species complex in northern Australia. Multivariate analyses of pheromone blends and morphology indicate that pheromones are lineage specific and have diverged relatively more than morphology. Such specificity suggests that pheromones influence behavioral isolation in this morphologically conservative lizard radiation. These results suggest that pheromone data may unlock the tremendous cryptic diversity currently being uncovered in many lizard groups.
动物利用交配特征来竞争、吸引和选择配偶。由于交配特征会影响配偶选择，因此种群之间交配特征的差异可能导致生殖隔离。这种隔离可能不会伴随着形态上的差异，从而产生在视觉上无法区分的具有生殖隔离的隐生种。因此，确定形态保守群体中的交配特征是解决多样性和物种形成过程的关键。蜥蜴包含许多这样的群体，系统地理学研究经常揭示出物种内高度分化但形态上隐生的谱系。鉴于隐生蜥蜴物种可能是同域的，但在形态上无法区分，我们假设候选物种将表现出不同的信息素，并且信息素的分化通常比形态学更多。为了验证这一点，我们使用气相色谱法对来自澳大利亚北部的 10 个遗传上不同的比氏蜥蜴属（）物种复合体的谱系的信息素（表皮孔分泌物）进行了特征描述。信息素混合物和形态的多元分析表明，信息素是谱系特异性的，并且比形态学分化得更多。这种特异性表明，信息素在这种形态保守的蜥蜴辐射中影响行为隔离。这些结果表明，信息素数据可能会揭示目前在许多蜥蜴群体中发现的巨大隐生多样性。
