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Lizards took express train to Polynesia

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  • Christopher C. Austin

    (Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum
    Institute of Statistical Mathematics)

Abstract

The pattern of human colonization of the islands of the central and eastern Pacific is contentious. Two models have been widely considered: the ‘express train to Polynesia’ and the ‘entangled bank’ hypotheses1,2,3,4. Here I analyse the mitochondrial DNA sequences of the lizard Lipinia noctua, which lives alongside humans on these Pacific islands, with a view to distinguishing between these two hypotheses. From a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence variation, I find that these lizards colonized the central and eastern Pacific as a result of human-mediated dispersal, presumably as stowaways on early Polynesian canoes. The extreme genetic similarity between the different colonies indicates rapid colonization from a single source, which I take as support of the express-train hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher C. Austin, 1999. "Lizards took express train to Polynesia," Nature, Nature, vol. 397(6715), pages 113-114, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:397:y:1999:i:6715:d:10.1038_16365
    DOI: 10.1038/16365
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