2003/12/01 by Nicole Maca‐Meyer, Salvador Carranza, Juan Carlos Rando +2 · 7 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Genetic diversity and population structure #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2003.00265.x
openalex publication_date 2003/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/11
Ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences (378 base pairs of cytochrome b and 368 of 12S rRNA) extracted from a mummified extinct giant lizard, Gallotia goliath, from eastern Tenerife, Canary Islands, were used to assess the species status and relationship of this form within the genus. G. goliath is clearly a member of the G. simonyi group of the western Canary islands (Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma) and is not closely related to the giant G. stehlini of Gran Canaria. Contrary to recent opinion, it is phylogenetically distinct, within the G. simonyi group, from the extant G. simonyi of El Hierro and also from the recently discovered live G. gomerana on La Gomera and from G. intermedia in north-western Tenerife. It may be the sister taxon of either all the other members of the G. simonyi group or of G. intermedia. The phylogenetic distinctness of G. goliath makes Tenerife unique among oceanic islands in having had one giant and two medium-sized lizard species that were probably substantially herbivorous, the others being G. intermedia and G. galloti. Gallotia shows great community differences on other islands in the Canaries, two having a single small species, one a single giant, and three a giant and a medium-sized form.