Overwater dispersal from a single source island shaped the diversity of green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis subgroup)

The Cuban green anoles, members of the Anolis carolinensis species complex, are among the most successful colonizing lineages of anole lizards in the Caribbean. We use ddRAD and Sanger sequence data to clarify the evolutionary relationships among all members of the A. carolinensis species complex (generally called Cuban green anoles), demarcate species boundaries, and explain the geographic origins of this key group of highly dispersive anoles. This study supports the “Out of Cuba” hypothesis involving six or seven independent colonization events from a Cuban source with one possible island-to-island dispersal event between the Cayman Islands and Navassa. Independent colonization events occurred from three main clades delimited by western, central, and eastern Cuba. West Cuban lineages dispersed twice—to the Cay Sal Bank (Bahamas) and to Florida. Central Cuban lineages dispersed twice—to the Bahamas archipelago and the Bay Islands (Honduras), respectively, with the latter seemingly owing to human assistance. East Cuban lineages colonized the Bahamas archipelago once as well as Little Cayman and Navassa, although it is unclear if all these colonizations occurred directly from Cuba. We recommend continued recognition of all species in the complex except A. fairchildi—which we consider a subspecies of A. porcatus—for a total of 8 species in this group: A. allisoni, A. brunneus, A. carolinensis, A. longiceps, A. maynardii, A. porcatus, A. smaragdinus, and A. torresfundorai.