Comparative phylogeography of three rainforest-restricted lizards from mid-east Queensland

Several small isolates of rainforest situated on the central eastern coast of Australia are home to a rich herpetofauna, including four endemic specie s of leaftail geckos (Phyllurus spp.) and two skinks (Eulamprus spp.). To e xamine the extent and geographic pattern of historical subdivision among is olates, we assayed mtDNA variation in two species endemic to rainforests of this region (Phyllurus ossa and Eulamprus amplus) and, for comparison, a m ore widespread and less specialised lizard, Carlia rhomboidalis. There is a clear genetic signature of historical changes in population size and distr ibution in P. ossa that is consistent with Pleistocene (or earlier) rainfor est contraction and subsequent expansion. Although more pronounced in the g ecko, phylogeographic structure was congruent between E. amplus and P. ossa . In contrast to the saxicolous, rainforest-restricted P. ossa and E. amplu s, the rainforest-generalist species, C. rhomboidalis, does not display str ong geographic population structure. The differences in genetic population structure exhibited by the three species are consistent with species-specif ic differences in ecology.