Short Communication Cryptic diversity and population genetic structure in the rare, endemic, forest-obligate, slender geckos of the Philippines Cameron D. Siler a,b,⇑ , T. Alex Dececchi b , Chris L. Merkord b , Drew R. Davis b , Tony J. Christiani b , Rafe M. Brown c a Department of Biology and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072-7029, USA b Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA c Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7561, USA article info Article history: Received 8 April 2013 Revised 5 August 2013 Accepted 16 September 2013 Available online 25 September 2013 Keywords: Conservation Deforestation Endemicity Enigmatic taxa Lepidodactylus Pseudogekko abstract Recent studies of forest lizards in Southeast Asia have highlighted spectacular morphological and cryptic genetic diversity in several poorly known clades. Unfortunately, many of the included species have microhabitat preferences for forested environments, and therefore they are threatened by extensive for- est destruction throughout the region. This is particularly true in the Philippines, an archipelago with a strikingly high proportion (84%) of endemic geckos. Abundances inferred from historical museum collec- tions suggests that we are in a critical period where apparent declines in population viability and species’ abundance have taken place faster than the growth in our understanding of alpha diversity. This phenom- enon is exemplified in the exceedingly rare Philippine slender forest geckos of the genus Pseudogekko. Most of the known species are rarely encountered by field biologists, and species boundaries are unclear; this poor state of knowledge impedes effective conservation measures. Using the first multilocus phylog- eny for these taxa, and phylogenetic and population genetic approaches, we elucidate evolutionary lin- eages and delimit species-level conservation targets in this unique radiation of endemic Philippine geckos. The results support the presence of widespread cryptic diversity in the genus, providing a frame- work for the re-evaluation of conservation priorities aimed at protecting these rare, forest-obligate species. Ó 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Over the last decade, the diversity of gekkonid lizards in the Philippines has blossomed as a result of renewed survey efforts throughout the country, focused investigations of widespread taxa, and use of phylogenetic approaches with molecular data in combi- nation with traditional morphological characters (Brown and Dies- mos, 2009; Siler et al., 2010, 2012a). Presently, 50 gekkonid species (representing nine genera) are recognized: Cyrtodactylus (9 spe- cies), Gekko (14), Gehyra (1), Hemidactylus (5), Hemiphyllodactylus (2), Lepidodactylus (6), Luperosaurus (8), Pseudogekko (4), and Pty- chozoon (1) (for recent reviews, see Brown et al., 2011; Linkem et al., 2010; Welton et al., 2010). Notably, with the exception of common house geckos (genera Gehyra and Hemidactylus), and two species in the genus Gekko (G. gecko and G. monarchus), all spe- cies are endemic to the Philippines, resulting in a remarkable ende- mic community of gekkonid lizards (84% endemicity). Unfortunately, because many of these species are dependent on primary forest microhabitats, they are threatened by extensive habitat destruction throughout the archipelago (Brown and Dies- mos, 2009; Heaney and Regalado, 1998; Lasco et al., 2001; Liu et al., 1993). With only 4–8% of the country’s primary forest remaining (Brown and Diesmos, 2009; Lasco and Pulhin, 1998; Las- co et al., 2001; Liu et al., 1993), the conservation of species with obligate forest requirements represents a critical challenge for gov- ernment agencies, wildlife managers, and conservation biologists (Brown and Diesmos, 2009; Catibog-Sinha and Heaney, 2006). Complicating the conservation issues in the Philippines is the rap- idly growing realization that our current understanding of terres- trial vertebrate diversity in the archipelago is significantly underestimated for reptiles and amphibians (Brown and Diesmos, 2002, 2009). For geckos (last reviewed by Brown and Alcala (1978)), a nas- cent body of research over the last few years has allowed for more stable estimates of alpha diversity throughout the archipelago (for recent reviews, see: Brown et al., 2011, 2012a, 2012b; Linkem et al., 2010; Welton et al., 2010); however, we remain in a critical period where observed decreases in population health and abun- dance (IUCN, 2012) have taken place faster than the growth in 1055-7903/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2013.09.014 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Biology and Sam Noble Okla- homa Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, OK 73072-7029, USA. Fax: +1 (405) 325 7699. E-mail address: camsiler@ou.edu (C.D. Siler). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 70 (2014) 204–209 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev