Data from: Lizards in pinstripes: morphological and genomic evidence for two new species of scincid lizards within Ctenotus piankai Storr and C. duricola Storr (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Australian arid zone

The scincid lizard genus Ctenotus is one of the most species-rich genera of squamate reptiles, but few molecular phylogenetic studies have been undertaken on the group. Here we assess molecular and morphological variation within C. piankai and C. duricola, an arid-adapted pair of nominate species characterized by a pattern of thin pale longitudinal lines on a dark background that occur primarily in the western deserts and Pilbara region of Australia. We sequenced mitochondrial DNA and genome-wide restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) from geographically widespread samples of these lizard taxa, with particularly dense sampling from the Pilbara region. Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene and approximately 5,000 nuclear loci identified four highly divergent lineages within the two taxa. The four genetically-defined populations were concordant with geography and are distinguishable based on multiple morphological and color pattern characters, despite appearing superficially similar in appearance. Despite limited mtDNA exchange between two lineages in the Pilbara, we found no evidence for ongoing gene flow across the nuclear genome. For the western desert lineages, there was no evidence of introgression for either mtDNA or nDNA in our data. To resolve the taxonomy of the group, we redescribe C. piankai and C. duricola, and recognize the two divergent lineages as new species: C. rhabdotus sp. nov., from the south-eastern Kimberley, Ord, Victoria River and northern Tanami Desert regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and C. pallasotus sp. nov., from the western Pilbara and North West Cape regions of Western Australia.

栉眼蜥属（Ctenotus）是石龙子科蜥蜴中物种多样性最高的类群之一，但针对该类群的分子系统发育研究却极为匮乏。本文针对C. piankai与C. duricola这一对适应干旱环境的指名种展开分子与形态变异分析：二者以深色底色搭配纤细浅色纵纹为典型鉴别特征，主要分布于澳大利亚西部沙漠及皮尔巴拉（Pilbara）地区。我们对该蜥蜴类群的广泛地理分布样本进行了线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）及全基因组限制性酶切位点相关DNA（restriction-site associated DNA, RAD）测序，其中针对皮尔巴拉地区的采样密度尤为可观。基于线粒体细胞色素b基因与约5000个核基因座的系统发育分析，我们在这两个物种类群内鉴定出4个高度分化的演化支系。这4个基于遗传学界定的种群与地理分布高度契合，且可通过多项形态及体色斑纹特征加以区分，尽管二者的宏观外观较为相似。尽管皮尔巴拉地区的两个演化支系间存在有限的线粒体DNA基因交流，但我们未发现核基因组存在持续基因流的证据；针对西部沙漠的演化支系，本研究数据亦未显示线粒体DNA或核DNA存在渐渗现象。为厘清该类群的分类学问题，我们对C. piankai与C. duricola进行了重新描述，并将其中两个分化支系认定为新种：分别为产自澳大利亚西部及北领地东南部金伯利、奥德、维多利亚河与塔纳米沙漠北部区域的C. rhabdotus sp. nov.，以及产自澳大利亚西部皮尔巴拉西部及西北角区域的C. pallasotus sp. nov.