Phylogenomics of genera Abronia and Mesaspis

Here we carried out a phylogenetic study of Abronia and Mesaspis based on the most comprehensive taxonomic sampling to date and double digest restriction site-associated (ddRADseq) data. Our best estimate of phylogenetic relationships differs considerably from all previously published topologies for the involved taxa, consistently recovering Abronia and Mesaspis as reciprocally paraphyletic. Our phylogenomic analyses show a strong geographic structure among the involved taxa that is concordant with the geological history of the different Mesoamerican mountain ranges. We discuss the taxonomic implications that the obtained relationships will have for the classification of the examined taxa and list the exclusive (or unique combinations of) morphological characters that diagnose the main recovered clades. This study highlights the utility of ddRADseq data to reconstruct the evolutionary history of supraspecific vertebrate taxa.