Molecular phylogeny of Atractus (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with emphasis on Ecuadorian species and the description of three new taxa.

Alejandro Arteaga,Jorge H Valencia,Konrad Mebert,José L Vieira-Fernandes,Diego F Cisneros-Heredia,Juan M Guayasamin,Nicolás Peñafiel,Carolina Reyes-Puig

doi:10.3897/zookeys.661.11224

Abstract

We present a molecular phylogeny of snake genus Atractus, with an improved taxon sampling that includes 30 of the 140 species currently recognized. The phylogenetic tree supports the existence of at least three new species in the Pacific lowlands and adjacent Andean slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, which we describe here. A unique combination of molecular, meristic and color pattern characters support the validity of the new species. With the newly acquired data, we propose and define the Atractus iridescens species group, as well as redefine the Atractus roulei species group. The species Atractus iridescens is reported for the first time in Ecuador, whereas Atractus bocourti and Atractus medusa are removed from the herpetofauna of this country. We provide the first photographic vouchers of live specimens for Atractus multicinctus, Atractus paucidens and Atractus touzeti, along with photographs of 19 other Ecuadorian Atractus species. The current status of Atractus occidentalis and Atractus paucidens is maintained based on the discovery of new material referable to these species. With these changes, the species number reported in Ecuador increases to 27, a number that is likely to increase as material not examined in this work becomes available and included in systematic studies.

Highlights

With 140 species, Atractus is the most speciose snake genus in the world, with 33 new species described only during the last ten years (Uetz et al 2016)
The taxonomic validity of A. occidentalis and A. paucidens (Despax, 1910) was not recognized in Arteaga et al (2013), owing to their close morphological resemblance to A. dunni (Savage, 1955) and A. modestus (Boulenger, 1894), respectively. To resolve these pending issues and to shed light on potentially unclear species boundaries, we report on new material of Atractus from Ecuador, review current knowledge on the species occurring in the Pacific lowlands and adjacent Andean slopes, present a new molecular phylogeny, including most Ecuadorian species, and describe three new species of Atractus
From the five members of the A. paucidens species groups of Passos et al (2009a) that were sampled in our phylogeny, only A. paucidens, A. savagei, and A. typhon cluster together

Summary

Introduction

With 140 species, Atractus is the most speciose snake genus in the world, with 33 new species described only during the last ten years (Uetz et al 2016). One recent work by Passos et al (2009a) evaluated the taxonomic status of Atractus species from the Pacific lowland of Colombia and Ecuador, using a combination of meristic, morphometric, color pattern, and hemipenial characters. These authors described three new species and provided a comprehensive review of all Atractus known to occur in the region. The taxonomic validity of A. occidentalis and A. paucidens (Despax, 1910) was not recognized in Arteaga et al (2013), owing to their close morphological resemblance to A. dunni (Savage, 1955) and A. modestus (Boulenger, 1894), respectively

Methods

Results

Conclusion