TY - JOUR A2 - Burda, Hynek AU - Cacciali, Pier AU - Lotzkat, Sebastian AU - Gamble, Tony AU - Köhler, Gunther PY - 2018 DA - 2018/07/16 TI - Cryptic Diversity in the Neotropical Gecko Genus Phyllopezus Peters, 1878 (Reptilia: Squamata: Phyllodactylidae): A New Species from Paraguay SP - 3958327 VL - 2018 AB - The gecko genus Phyllopezus is distributed mainly along South America’s “Dry Diagonal” (Caatinga, Cerrado, and Chaco). The genus has been the subject of recent taxonomic analyses and includes four described species and seven candidate species referred to here as Phyllopezus pollicaris sensu lato. In Paraguay, Phyllopezus is known from the Chaco and Cerrado where it is abundant, and also from a small isolated population from a rocky hill formation named “Cordillera de Los Altos” (Los Altos mountain range). Here we analyzed genetic samples from across its range, including new samples from Paraguay, using DNA barcoding analysis of the mitochondrial 16S gene and phylogenetic analyses using both Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood methods. We found genetic and morphological differences among geckos from the Los Altos mountain range and the remaining Phyllopezus populations. Using both molecular and morphological evidence we describe a new Phyllopezus species, sister to P. przewalskii. Genetic differentiation among described and putative Phyllopezus species is greater than their morphological differences, which likely accounts for these cryptic taxa remaining undescribed for so long. SN - 1687-8477 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3958327 DO - 10.1155/2018/3958327 JF - International Journal of Zoology PB - Hindawi KW - ER -