Molecular systematics of Caribbean skinks of the genus Mabuya (Reptilia, Scincidae), with descriptions of two new species from Venezuela

Phylogenetic relationships among the species of Mabuya present around the Caribbean Sea (Antilles, Central America, and northern South America) are proposed for the first time. The molecular phylogenetic analyses (based on cytochrome b and 12S sequences) give new insights into the diversification of the genus in the New World, its multiple instances of montane habitat colonization, and the multiple waves of colonization towards the Caribbean area. In addition to the molecular analyses, we propose hypotheses about the phylogenetic placement of some rare or possibly extinct species, based on a qualitative analysis of morphological characters. The present article also includes descriptions of two new species from northern Venezuela, Mabuya nebulosylvestris sp. nov. (from the highlands of the coastal range and the Andean Cordillera of Mérida) and Mabuya zuliae sp. nov. (from the lowlands of the Maracaibo lake basin). Mabuya luciae Garman, 1887, a possibly extinct species endemic to St Lucia Island, is resurrected and diagnosed from its supposed sister species, Mabuya mabouya (Lacepède, 1788). © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2009, 156 , 598–616.