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The relative influence of Neogene geomorphological events and Quaternary climatic changes as causal mechanisms on Neotropical diversification remains largely speculative, as most divergence timing inferences are based on a single locus and have limited taxonomic or geographic sampling. To investigate these influences, we use a multilocus (two mitochondrial and 11 nuclear genes) range-wide sampling of Phyllopezus pollicaris, a gecko complex widely distributed across the poorly studied South American 'dry diagonal' biomes. Our approach couples traditional and model-based phylogeography with geospatial methods, and demonstrates Miocene diversification and limited influence of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations on P. pollicaris. Phylogeographic structure and distribution models highlight that persistence across multiple isolated regions shaped the diversification of this species complex. Approximate Bayesian computation supports hypotheses of allopatric and ecological/sympatric speciation between lineages that largely coincide with genetic clusters associated with Chaco, Cerrado, and Caatinga, standing for complex diversification between the 'dry diagonal' biomes. We recover extremely high genetic diversity and suggest that eight well-supported clades may be valid species, with direct implications for taxonomy and conservation assessments. These patterns exemplify how low-vagility species complexes, characterized by strong genetic structure and pre-Pleistocene divergence histories, represent ideal radiations to investigate broad biogeographic histories of associated biomes.

We tested the role of sex, size, and mass of the lizards , , , , and on the rates of pentastomid infection in the Brazilian Caatinga. We collected 355 individuals of these five species, of which four (prevalence of infection: 15.9 %, 1.4 %, 28.57 %, and 4.16 %) were infected by . Parasite abundance was influenced by host body size and mass only in . Host sex did not influence the abundance of parasites in any species. , , and are three new host records for pentastomids.

The diets of two sympatric gecko species, Hemidactylus mabouia and Phyllopezus pollicaris, were studied from an urban area of the Crato municipality, Northeastern Brazil. While the house gecko H. mabouia is an introduced species widely distributed in North, Central, and South America, the Brazilian gecko P pollicaris is a native species distributed along the great diagonal of open formations of South America. The diets of both species were mainly composed by arthropods, Diptera was the most important item for both species, corroborating others studies with lizards in urban areas. Male and female adults of both H. mabouia and P. pollicaris use similar microhabitats which can explain the high sexual and interspecific trophic niche overlap. In these populations from an urban area of the Crato municipality, the alien H. mabouia seems to have not negatively affected the trophic niche of the native P pollicaris.