Data from: A phylogenetic, biogeographic, and taxonomic study of all extant species of Anolis (Squamata; Iguanidae)

Anolis lizards (anoles) are textbook study organisms in evolution and ecology. Although several topics in evolutionary biology have been elucidated by the study of anoles, progress in some areas has been hampered by limited phylogenetic information on this group. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of all 379 extant species of Anolis, with new phylogenetic data for 139 species including new DNA data for 101 species. We use the resulting estimates as a basis for defining anole clade names under the principles of phylogenetic nomenclature and to examine the biogeographic history of anoles. Our new taxonomic treatment achieves the supposed advantages of recent subdivisions of anoles that employed ranked Linnaean–based nomenclature while avoiding the pitfalls of those approaches regarding artificial constraints imposed by ranks. Our biogeographic analyses demonstrate complexity in the dispersal history of anoles, including multiple crossings of the Isthmus of Panama, two invasions of the Caribbean, single invasions to Jamaica and Cuba, and a single evolutionary dispersal from the Caribbean to the mainland that resulted in substantial anole diversity. Our comprehensive phylogenetic estimate of anoles should prove useful for rigorous testing of many comparative evolutionary hypotheses.

安乐蜥（Anolis lizards，anoles）是进化生物学与生态学领域的经典模式研究生物。尽管学界通过对安乐蜥的研究阐明了进化生物学中的多项议题，但该类群的系统发育信息较为匮乏，掣肘了部分研究领域的发展。本研究针对现存的379种安乐蜥开展系统发育分析，其中139个物种提供了新的系统发育数据，涵盖101个物种的全新DNA序列信息。我们基于所得的系统发育推断结果，依据系统发育命名学（phylogenetic nomenclature）的原则定义安乐蜥的演化支（clade）名称，并探讨了安乐蜥的生物地理演化历史。本研究提出的新分类处理方案，既实现了近期采用林奈等级分类法的安乐蜥细分方案所宣称的优势，又规避了该类方法因等级划分带来的人为约束弊端。我们的生物地理分析揭示了安乐蜥扩散历史的复杂性，包括多次跨巴拿马地峡的扩散事件、两次入侵加勒比海区域、单次入侵牙买加与古巴，以及一次从加勒比海地区向大陆的演化扩散——该事件催生了丰富的安乐蜥物种多样性。本研究构建的全面安乐蜥系统发育推断结果，将为诸多比较进化生物学假说的严谨检验提供重要支撑。