Out of Indochina: confirmed specimen record and first molecular identification of Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 (Squamata, Psammophiidae) from Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 was reported in the eastern Java and Bali of Indonesia despite its primary geographic range being in the Indochina region. We confirm its presence in Bali based on a newly collected specimen and provide morphological and genetic data. The specimen was found in a lowland, urban areas near open grassland habitat, which confirms the distribution of P. indochinensis along the northern coast of Bali. We note some character aberrations in the supralabials compared to Thailand specimens, suggesting an extended character. The basal clade position of P. indochinensis raises the possibility of an intercontinental dispersal scenario of this African-origin snake.

Novel phylogenomic inference and ‘Out of Asia’ biogeography of cobras, coral snakes, and their allies

“…Whether or not Psammophis leithii and P. longifrons represent additional invasions of the continent must be tested with genetic data. Kurniawan et al [148] hypothesized that the earlier of these Psammophis immigration events occurred by dispersal across the Gomphotherium land bridge, and our biogeographic and divergence time results were consistent with this hypothesis (figure 4). The importance of Psammophis fossils from the Late Miocene of Spain [150]-where the genus does not presently occur-in understanding when and how ancestors of extant Psammophis lineages arrived in Asia is not clear.…”

“…Previous phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies have supported colonisation of Asia at least twice by lineages of Psammophis (Psammophiidae), first by an ancestor of the clade minimally containing Psammphis condanarus, P. indochinensis, P. lineolatus , and P. turpanensis , and probably also containing P. leithii and P. longifrons [147,148]; and more recently by either an ancestor of Psammophis schokari or by an ancestor of the Asian sublineage within this species [149]. Whether or not Psammophis leithii and P. longifrons represent additional invasions of the continent must be tested with genetic data.…”

First occurrence ofPsammophis(Serpentes) from Europe witnesses another Messinian herpetofaunal dispersal from Africa – biogeographic implications and a discussion of the vertebral morphology of psammophiid snakes

“…Moreover, molecular data have shown that divergence and speciation within Psammophis has occurred during the Miocene and particularly during the Pliocene (Gonçalves et al, 2018; Zheng & Wiens, 2016). It has been further envisaged that Psammophis originated in Africa and from there subsequently dispersed to Asia during the early Miocene via the so‐called “ Gomphotherium‐ Landbridge” (Kurniawan et al, 2021), a terrestrial corridor that was formed from the collision of the Afro‐Arabian plate to Eurasia, a route that anyway is known to have favored faunal exchanges of other African reptile lineages as well (see Georgalis et al, 2020; Georgalis et al, 2016).…”

“…The most widespread and diverse psammophiid genus is the type genus of the family, Psammophis Boié in Fitzinger, 1826, comprising more than 20 species, distributed across large portions of Africa and Asia (Broadley, 1977a, 2002; Chen et al, 2021; Chippaux & Jackson, 2019; Kelly et al, 2008; Kurniawan et al, 2021; Loveridge, 1940; Trape et al, 2019). In Europe, Psammophis is absent and psammophiids as a whole are confined to the southern margins of the continent, represented solely by two species of the genus Malpolon Fitzinger, 1826, that is, Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann, 1804) in the west and Malpolon insignitus (Geoffroy‐Saint‐Hilaire, 1827) in the east (Carranza et al, 2006; Speybroeck et al, 2020).…”

Novel phylogenomic inference and ‘Out of Asia’ biogeography of cobras, coral snakes and their allies

“…Previous phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies have supported colonization of Asia at least twice by lineages of Psammophis (Psammophiidae), first by an ancestor of the clade minimally containing P. condanarus, P. indochinensis, P. lineolatus and P. turpanensis, and probably also containing P. leithii and P. longifrons [153,154]; and more recently by either an ancestor of P. schokari or by an ancestor of the Asian sublineage within this species [155]. Whether or not P. leithii and P. longifrons represent additional invasions of the continent must be tested with genetic data.…”