Population structure of three Psammodromus species in the Iberian Peninsula

The knowledge of a species' population structure is essential for the development of adequate conservation actions as well as for the understanding of its evolution. The population structure is unknown in all species of the Genus Psammodromus, including theWestern Sand Racer (Psammodromus occidentalis; a recently described species), the Edward's Sand Racer (P. edwardsianus) and the Spanish Sand Racer (P. hispanicus). In this article, the genetic variability and population structure of Psammodromus edwardsianus, P. hispanicus, and P. occidentalis were studied in the Iberian Peninsula covering their natural geographic distribution. Mitochondrial DNA showed genetically different units in all species with higher genetic variability in their southern populations (latitudinal variation). Genetic differentiation was different among species and contrasted to those of species with similar characteristics. Our results therefore highlight the importance of species-specific studies analysing population structure. © 2015 Horreo and Fitze.Jose L. Horreo was supported by a FICYT Clarín-EU Marie Curie CoFund grant (ACA14-26). The project was financed by a SNF grant (PPOOP3_128375 to PSF). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer Reviewe