Abstract
The Asian snail-eating snakes Pareas is the largest genus of the family Pareidae (formerly Pareatidae), and widely distributed in Southeast Asia. However, potential diversity remains poorly explored due to their highly conserved morphology and incomplete samples. Here, on basis of more extensive sampling, interspecific phylogenetic relationships of the genus Pareas were reconstructed using two mitochondrial fragments (cyt b and ND4) and two nuclear genes (c-mos and Rag1), and multivariate morphometrics conducted for external morphological data. Both Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses consistently showed that the genus Pareas was comprised of two distinct, monophyletic lineages with moderate to low support values. Based on evidences from molecular phylogeny and morphological data, cryptic diversity of this genus was uncovered and two new species were described. In additional, the validity of P. macularius is confirmed.
Highlights
Within lineage A, genetic divergence between species varied from 6.5% (P. hamptoni and the population from Mengzi, Yunnan; P. iwasakii Maki, 1937 and P. komaii) to 29.5% (P. hamptoni and P. margaritophorus Jan, 1866) based on cyt b and from 8.5%
A total of 1 767 (1 095 bp from cyt b, 672 bp from NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4)) and 1 635 (612 bp from cmos and 1 023 bp from recombination activating gene 1 (Rag1)) aligned base pairs were obtained from the two mtDNA fragments and two nuclear genes, respectively
Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) analyses based on two separate datasets depicted consistent topological trees, which are in general accordance with those of Guo et al (2011) and You et al (2015)
Summary
Within lineage A, genetic divergence between species varied from 6.5% (P. hamptoni and the population from Mengzi, Yunnan; P. iwasakii Maki, 1937 and P. komaii) to 29.5% (P. hamptoni and P. margaritophorus Jan, 1866) based on cyt b and from 8.5% Within lineage B, the sublineage containing the four individuals from southern Yunnan demonstrated genetic divergences of 18.5% and 26.5% from P. nuchalis and P. carinatus, respectively, based on the ND4 sequences (Table 3).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
