Squamate relationships based on C-mos nuclear DNA sequences: increased taxon sampling improves bootstrap support

Sequences of the nuclear gene C-mos from 16 new species have been combined with previously published data to produce an analysis of squamate relations hips using 56 taxa, considerably more than in previous analyses. Support fo r many nodes is greatly increased, thus producing a more robust assessment of relationships. Sampling was concentrated within the families Iguanidae a nd Lacertidae, both of which have poorly supported phylogenies based on mtD NA sequence data. Our analysis supports a robust estimate of relationships within the Iguanidae. Within the Lacertidne relationships are only partiall y well resolved, and this provides independent evidence for rapid speciatio n within this family.