Title

Uncovering Cryptic Diversity In Aspidomorphus (Serpentes: Elapidae): Evidence From Mitochondrial And Nuclear Markers

Keywords

Cryptic species; Demansia; Hydrophiinae; mtDNA and nuDNA concordance; New Guinea; Toxicocalamus

Abstract

The Papuan region, comprising New Guinea and nearby islands, has a complex geological history that has fostered high levels of biodiversity and endemism. Unfortunately, much of this diversity remains undocumented. We examine the evolutionary relationships of the venomous snake genus Aspidomorphus (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae), a Papuan endemic, and document extensive cryptic lineage diversification. Between Aspidomorphus species we find 22.2-27.9% corrected cyt-b sequence divergence. Within species we find 17.7-23.7% maximum sequence divergence. These high levels of genetic divergence may have complicated previous phylogenetic studies, which have had difficulty placing Aspidomorphus within the subfamily Hydrophiinae. Compared to previous studies, we increase sampling within Hydrophiinae to include all currently recognized species of Aspidomorphus and increase species representation for the genera Demansia and Toxicocalamus. We confirm monophyly of Aspidomorphus and resolve placement of the genus utilizing a set of seven molecular markers (12S, 16S, cyt-b, ND4, c-mos, MyHC-2, and RAG-1); we find strong support for a sister-group relationship between Aspidomorphus and a Demansia/Toxicocalamus preussi clade. We also use one mitochondrial (cyt-b) and one nuclear marker (SPTBN1) to document deep genetic divergence within all currently recognized species of Aspidomorphus and discuss the Solomon Island Arc as a potential center of divergence in this species. Lastly, we find high levels of concordance between the mtDNA and nuDNA markers used for inter-species phylogenetic reconstruction. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publication Date

2-1-2010

Publication Title

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Volume

54

Issue

2

Number of Pages

405-416

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.07.027

Socpus ID

73149092759 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/73149092759

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