Cryptic species and M iocene diversification of P alaearctic naked‐toed geckos ( S quamata: G ekkonidae) in the I ndian dry zone

We sampled P alaearctic naked‐toed geckos from across their range in India and used two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes to reconstruct relationships within a global phylogeny. Published sequences of P eninsular I ndian H emidactylus allow us to contrast these two groups in dating analyses – providing insights into the history of the I ndian dry zone. Palaearctic naked‐toed geckos first moved onto the I ndian P late in the O ligocene, with higher‐level diversification probably linked to collision of the I ndian and E urasian plates, and subsequent dispersal into‐ I ndia and diversification with increasing M iocene aridity. An independent gekkonid radiation with species in the dry zone, H emidactylus diversified during the same period in P eninsular I ndia. Our results demonstrate that dry zone taxa across I ndia may date back to at least the M iocene, with a potential historical climatic barrier between the I ndus and P eninsular I ndian D ivisions. ‘ Cyrtopodion ’ aravallense is revealed to be a complex with seven genetically and environmentally divergent lineages that began diversifying in the late Miocene, congruent with increased aridity in north‐western I ndia. This discovery of cryptic diversity in the I ndian dry zone represents the first terrestrial vertebrate radiation from north‐western central India and highlights how little we understand of the regions’ biodiversity, emphasizing the need for systematic geographic sampling and multiline evidence to reveal true patterns of diversity. The ancestor of ‘Cyrtopodion’ aravallense came into the nascent I ndian dry zone in the M iocene and has since diversified, potentially in the absence of any sympatric scansorial rupicolous geckos. Cyrtopodion scabrum represents a unique case of commensalism and shows phylogeographic structure in its presumed native range. The taxonomic implications of our study include a number of undescribed species, recognition of ‘ C yrtopodion ’ as a distinct lineage and the non‐monophyly of A ltiphylax .