Phylogeography of the endangered Lesser Antillean iguana, Iguana delicatissima: a recent diaspora in an archipelago known for ancient herpetological endemism

Abstract

Iguana delicatissima is an endangered endemic of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Phylogeographic analyses for many terrestrial vertebrate species in the Caribbean, particularly lizards, suggest ancient divergence times. Often, the closest relatives of species are found on the same island, indicating that colonization rates are so low that speciation on islands is often more likely to generate biodiversity than subsequent colonization events…. Despite the great distances between islands and habitat heterogeneity within islands, this species is characterized by low haplotype diversity.