Uncovering cryptic diversity in Aspidomorphus (Serpentes: Elapidae): Evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear markers

Metzger, Genevieve A.; Kraus, Fred; Allison, Allen; Parkinson, Christopher L.

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.07.027

Cited by 16 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…One obvious alternative is that these lineages comprise a set of cryptic species. Without question, one of the principal outcomes stemming from the assessment of species boundaries in light of DNA sequence data is the prevalence of morphologically indistinguishable lineages that are allopatric and likely reproductively isolated and thus qualify as cryptic sibling species [51]–[54]. First, it is our hypothesis that M. torreya lineage does not comprise cryptic species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Phylogeny and Classification of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Myrmekiaphila: An Integrative Approach to Evaluating Taxonomic Hypotheses

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundRevised by Bond and Platnick in 2007, the trapdoor spider genus Myrmekiaphila comprises 11 species. Species delimitation and placement within one of three species groups was based on modifications of the male copulatory device. Because a phylogeny of the group was not available these species groups might not represent monophyletic lineages; species definitions likewise were untested hypotheses. The purpose of this study is to reconstruct the phylogeny of Myrmekiaphila species using molecular data to formally test the delimitation of species and species-groups. We seek to refine a set of established systematic hypotheses by integrating across molecular and morphological data sets.Methods and FindingsPhylogenetic analyses comprising Bayesian searches were conducted for a mtDNA matrix composed of contiguous 12S rRNA, tRNA-val, and 16S rRNA genes and a nuclear DNA matrix comprising the glutamyl and prolyl tRNA synthetase gene each consisting of 1348 and 481 bp, respectively. Separate analyses of the mitochondrial and nuclear genome data and a concatenated data set yield M. torreya and M. millerae paraphyletic with respect to M. coreyi and M. howelli and polyphyletic fluviatilis and foliata species groups.ConclusionsDespite the perception that molecular data present a solution to a crisis in taxonomy, studies like this demonstrate the efficacy of an approach that considers data from multiple sources. A DNA barcoding approach during the species discovery process would fail to recognize at least two species (M. coreyi and M. howelli) whereas a combined approach more accurately assesses species diversity and illuminates speciation pattern and process. Concomitantly these data also demonstrate that morphological characters likewise fail in their ability to recover monophyletic species groups and result in an unnatural classification. Optimizations of these characters demonstrate a pattern of “Dollo evolution” wherein a complex character evolves only once but is lost multiple times throughout the group's history.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Phylogeny and Classification of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Myrmekiaphila: An Integrative Approach to Evaluating Taxonomic Hypotheses

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2009), an increasing number of previously unrecognised Melanesian species are revealed by molecular assessments of diversity with subsequent morphological analysis (Austin 2000; Heinicke et al. 2010, 2011; Metzger et al. 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny and systematics of Melanesia’s most diverse gecko lineage (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkonidae, Squamata)

Oliver¹,

Richards²,

Sistrom³

2012

Zoologica Scripta

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oliver, P.M., Richards, S.J. & Sistrom, M. (2012). Phylogeny and systematics of Melanesia's most diverse gecko lineage (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkonidae, Squamata). -Zoologica Scripta, 41, 437-454. The systematics and biogeographical history of the diverse fauna of New Guinea and surrounding islands (Melanesia) remain poorly known. We present a phylogeny for 16 of the 21 recognised Melanesian bent-toed geckos in the genus Cyrtodactylus based on mitochondrial sequence data. These analyses reveal two divergent lineages of Cyrtodactylus within Melanesia. One includes a single recognised species with clear affinities to sampled taxa from Asia. The other comprises a relatively diverse radiation (likely 30+ species), not closely related to sampled extralimital taxa and centred on the Melanesian region (including Australia). Many taxa within this second lineage are endemic to islands surrounding New Guinea, and dispersal and speciation on peripheral islands appears to have played an important role in the accumulation of species diversity within this clade. In contrast, little diversity is centred upon montane areas, although we do identify at least one lineage closely associated with hill and lower montane forest that probably dates to at least the late Miocene. Our phylogenetic analyses also reveal numerous divergent lineages that require taxonomic attention, including at least two widespread taxa that are likely to be composite, additional specimens of Cyrtodactylus capreoloides (until recently known only from the holotype) and several divergent and completely novel lineages, two of which we introduce herein: Cyrtodactylus arcanus sp. n. and Cyrtodactylus medioclivus sp. n.

show abstract

“…The phylogeny of Alfaro et al (2008) was used for homalopsid relationships. Within the Elapidae, the phylogeny of Castoe et al (2007) was used for placement of the Elapinae, phylogenies of Lukoschek and Keogh (2006) and Metzger et al (2010) were used for relationships within the Hydrophiinae, and the morphological study by Kharin and Czeblukov (2006) was used for relationships within the genus Laticauda . Within the family Colubridae, the phylogeny of Pyron et al (2011) was used for colubrine relationships and for placement of Xenochrophis and Dendrelaphis , the phylogeny of Zaher et al (2008) was used for dipsadine and xenodontine relationships, the phylogeny of Alfaro and Arnold (2001) was used for Thamnophiine snake relationships (i.e., Nerodia, Regina , and Storeria ), and the phylogeny of Highton et al (2002) was used to estimate the position of Pseustes .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gravity and the evolution of cardiopulmonary morphology in snakes

Lillywhite

Albert

Sheehy

et al. 2012

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular &

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Physiological investigations of snakes have established the importance of heart position and pulmonary structure in contexts of gravity effects on blood circulation. Here we investigate morphological correlates of cardiopulmonary physiology in contexts related to ecology, behavior and evolution. We analyze data for heart position and length of vascular lung in 154 species of snakes that exhibit a broad range of characteristic behaviors and habitat associations. We construct a composite phylogeny for these species, and we codify gravitational stress according to species habitat and behavior. We use conventional regression and phylogenetically independent contrasts to evaluate whether trait diversity is correlated with gravitational habitat related to evolutionary transitions within the composite tree topology. We demonstrate that snake species living in arboreal habitats, or which express strongly climbing behaviors, possess relatively short blood columns between the heart and the head, as well as relatively short vascular lungs, compared to terrestrial species. Aquatic species, which experience little or no gravity stress in water, show the reverse – significantly longer heart–head distance and longer vascular lungs. These phylogenetic differences complement the results of physiological studies and are reflected in multiple habitat transitions during the evolutionary histories of these snake lineages, providing strong evidence that heart–to–head distance and length of vascular lung are co–adaptive cardiopulmonary features of snakes.

show abstract

Uncovering cryptic diversity in Aspidomorphus (Serpentes: Elapidae): Evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear markers

Cited by 16 publications

References 53 publications

Phylogeny and Classification of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Myrmekiaphila: An Integrative Approach to Evaluating Taxonomic Hypotheses

Phylogeny and Classification of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Myrmekiaphila: An Integrative Approach to Evaluating Taxonomic Hypotheses

Phylogeny and systematics of Melanesia’s most diverse gecko lineage (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkonidae, Squamata)

Gravity and the evolution of cardiopulmonary morphology in snakes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About