Systematics of the Anolis roquet series of the southern Lesser Antilles

We report a phylogenetic analysis of approximately 1330 bases of mitochondrial DNA sequence for eight species of the Anolis roquet series (Anolis aeneus, Anolis bonairensis, Anolis extremus, Anolis griseus, Anolis luciae, Anolis richardi, Anolis roquet, Anolis trinitatus). These data contain 410 characters that are parsimony informative for the A. roquet series plus three outgroup species. A parsimony analysis of these data, combined with previously published allozymic data, reveals a single most parsimonious tree with strong support for seven internal branches. Anolis bonairensis and A. luciae are sister taxa and together form a sister taxon to a group containing the other species. Relationships among A. griseus, A. trinitatus, and a clade containing the remaining species are unresolved. Within the latter clade, A. richardi is the sister taxon to a group containing A. aeneus, A. extremus, and A. roquet, with the latter two species being sister taxa. Reanalysis of previously published allozymic data produces no conflicts with the mtDNA tree for well-supported branches. Parsimony analysis of the combined allozymic and DNA data gives a tree identical in topology to the tree resulting from the DNA analysis alone. In contrast to earlier studies, our phylogenetic analyses indicate that neither the small-bodied (A. aeneus, A. trinitatus) nor the large-bodied (A. griseus, A. richardi) species form monophyletic groups.