Phylogenetic and morphological investigation of the Mochlus afer-sundevallii Species Complex (Squamata: Scincidae) across the arid corridor of sub-Saharan Africa

The aridification of Africa resulted in the fragmentation of forests and the expansion of an arid corridor stretching from the northeast to southwest portion of sub-Saharan Africa, but the role this corridor has had in species-level diversification of southern African vertebrates is poorly understood. The, skink species Mochlus afer and M. sundevallii inhabit wide areas of the arid corridor and are therefore an ideal species pair for studying patterns of genetic and phenotypic diversity associated with this landscape. However, species boundaries between these taxa have been controversial. Using multi-locus molecular and morphological datasets, we investigate diversification patterns of the M. afer-sundevallii Species Complex across the arid corridor. Although analysis of genetic data reveals some genetic structure among geographic populations, results of phylogenetic and morphological analyses provide little support for two distinct evolutionary lineages, suggesting that populations pre...