Taxonomic status of a population of Zagrosian Lizard (Timon princeps) from Lodegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, based on the Cytb sequences

AbstractThe purpose of the present study was to assess the phylogenetic affinity and taxonomic status of a population of Zagrosian lizard (Timon princeps) from Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, by analyzing a 560 bp fragment of mtDNA Cytochrome b. To this end, a dataset was created using our sequences (five specimens from Lordegan) together with additional 17 sequences (T. princeps, T. kurdistanicus) downloaded from the GenBank. Based on the results, The Lordegan's specimens clustered along with other T. princeps. Sister-group relationships between T. princeps and T. kurdistanicus was recovered with the highest support. Based on the haplotype network analysis, most recovered haplotypes are restricted to a specific geographical region. Due to the fact that the central haplotype is related to the southernmost known distribution record of T. princeps in Iran (Dashte Arjan), a possible scenario could be that older haplotypes of T. princeps belonged to these areas and then after last glacial period spread northward.