Data from: Phylogenetic relationships of Trachylepis skink species from Madagascar and the Seychelles (Squamata: Scincidae)

Lizards of the genus Trachylepis are a species-rich group of skinks mainly
inhabiting Africa, Madagascar, and several other islands in the western
Indian Ocean. All except one probably introduced species of Madagascan
Trachylepis are endemic. Two species groups have been distinguished on the
basis of subocular scale shape but their phylogenetic relationships
remained unclear. We inferred a multilocus phylogeny of the Madagascan
Trachylepis species, based on a concatenated dataset of 3261 bp from 3
mitochondrial and 4 nuclear genes with a dense Madagascan taxon sampling
and find high support for the monophyly of the endemic Madagascan
Trachylepis. The two species groups in Madagascar are highly supported as
clades. The highland species T. boettgeri is nested in the T.
aureopunctata species group of mainly arid-adapted species, suggesting a
colonization of highland swamps by ancestors inhabiting dry western
Madagascar. The Seychellois species were sister to the T. maculilabris/T.
comorensis clade, suggesting their origin directly out of Africa as with
Seychellois chameleons. In Madagascar, a high intraspecific molecular
variation was confirmed for T. gravenhorstii, T. elegans, and T. vato,
indicating a need for taxonomic revision.