The evolutionary history of two lizards (Squamata: Lacertidae) is linked to the geological development of Iran

The Iranian Plateau is an area of highly complex landscape and incredibly diverse habitats, from salt deserts to temperate forests. Such a heterogeneous environment, at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa, fuels the high diversity and uniqueness of the Iranian fauna and flora. Nevertheless, our understanding of the historical processes that shaped the Iranian biodiversity remains limited. In this context, we revisit the evolutionary history of the two most widespread lizard species on the Iranian Plateau (Eremias persica and Mesalina watsonana) to explore whether these two taxa of similar ecology have been subjected to similar historical processes. To achieve that, we performed a series of phylogenetic analyses and thoroughly tested all possible alternative topologies based on available mitochondrial sequences (cytochrome b and 12S ribosomal RNA). Additionally, we estimated the number of mitochondrial clusters based on a novel single-locus delimitation method and the time of their divergence, using recently inferred evolutionary rates for lacertid species. The results indicate that the two taxa have been shaped by similar physiographic and climatic barriers since both phylogenies split into similar geographical clusters. However, E. persica has twice as long evolutionary time on the Iranian Plateau than M. watsonana. The first divergence of E. persica was estimated in the Middle Miocene (∼13 Mya), at the time of the major uplift of the Zagros mountain range. The Upper Miocene tectonic rearrangement that resulted in the uplift of the Alborz mountains coincides with the original split in M. watsonana (∼6.6 Mya) and several contemporaneous splits within E. persica.