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Issue: Vol. 4093 No. 3: 23 Mar. 2016
Type: Article
Published: 2016-03-22
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4093.3.5
Page range: 382–390
Abstract views: 48
PDF downloaded: 1

Multilocus phylogeny of the Asian Lance-headed pitvipers (Squamata, Viperidae, Protobothrops)

College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet St., Hanoi, Vietnam
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
Department of Biology, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL 60625
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China
Reptilia Asia Bayesian distribution venomous snake systematics

Abstract

Despite the public health significance and potential applications to medical research, the evolutionary history of the Asian Lance-headed pitvipers (genus Protobothrops) remains inadequately studied. Previous research generally focused on a few selected species with no comprehensive molecular study of Protobothrops. Here, we conduct the first study to infer the phylogenetic relationships of all currently recognized species in this genus based on four mitochondrial DNA fragments and four nuclear genes. Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses show that within Protobothrops there are four strongly supported clades forming distinct subgroups. The first subgroup, which is sister to the other three, consists of three species, P. himalayanus, P. kaulbacki, and P. sieversorum. The second subgroup contains only P. mangshanensis. The final two subgroups, which are sister groups, include the other four and six Protobothrops species. Although our findings provide additional information on the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Protobothrops, the placement of P. dabieshanensis and P. elegans remains problematic. In addition, our molecular results indicate that P. trungkhanhensis, currently considered endemic to Vietnam, should be added to the species known from China. Our ancestral area estimation indicated that Protobothrops likely originated in southwestern China. This study improves our understanding of the evolutionary relationships among species of Asian Lance-headed pitvipers, providing a greater framework for future studies.

 

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