An integrative taxonomic revision of slug-eating snakes (Squamata: Pareidae: Pareineae) reveals unprecedented diversity in Indochina

PeerJ

article

Nikolay A. Poyarkov¹  Tan Van Nguyen³  Parinya Pawangkhanant⁴  Platon V. Yushchenko²  Peter Brakels⁵  Linh Hoang Nguyen⁶  Hung Ngoc Nguyen⁶  Chatmongkon Suwannapoom⁴  Nikolai Orlov⁷  Gernot Vogel⁸ 

[1] Laboratory of Tropical Ecology, Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center;Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University;Department of Species Conservation;Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao;IUCN Laos PDR;Department of Zoology, Southern Institute of Ecology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology;Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences;Society for Southeast Asian Herpetology

关键词: Pareas;    Asthenodipsas;    Aplopeltura;    Eberhardtia;    Spondylodipsas;    Molecular phylogeny;    Biogeography;    Southeast Asia;    Sundaland;    Cryptic species;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12713

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Slug-eating snakes of the subfamily Pareinae are an insufficiently studied group of snakes specialized in feeding on terrestrial mollusks. Currently Pareinae encompass three genera with 34 species distributed across the Oriental biogeographic region. Despite the recent significant progress in understanding of Pareinae diversity, the subfamily remains taxonomically challenging. Here we present an updated phylogeny of the subfamily with a comprehensive taxon sampling including 30 currently recognized Pareinae species and several previously unknown candidate species and lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA and nuDNA data supported the monophyly of the three genera Asthenodipsas, Aplopeltura, and Pareas. Within both Asthenodipsas and Pareas our analyses recovered deep differentiation with each genus being represented by two morphologically diagnosable clades, which we treat as subgenera. We further apply an integrative taxonomic approach, including analyses of molecular and morphological data, along with examination of available type materials, to address the longstanding taxonomic questions of the subgenus Pareas, and reveal the high level of hidden diversity of these snakes in Indochina. We restrict the distribution of P. carinatus to southern Southeast Asia, and recognize two subspecies within it, including one new subspecies proposed for the populations from Thailand and Myanmar. We further revalidate P. berdmorei, synonymize P. menglaensis with P. berdmorei, and recognize three subspecies within this taxon, including the new subspecies erected for the populations from Laos and Vietnam. Furthermore, we describe two new species of Pareas from Vietnam: one belonging to the P. carinatus group from southern Vietnam, and a new member of the P. nuchalis group from the central Vietnam. We provide new data on P. temporalis, and report on a significant range extension for P. nuchalis. Our phylogeny, along with molecular clock and ancestral area analyses, reveal a complex diversification pattern of Pareinae involving a high degree of sympatry of widespread and endemic species. Our analyses support the “upstream” colonization hypothesis and, thus, the Pareinae appears to have originated in Sundaland during the middle Eocene and then colonized mainland Asia in early Oligocene. Sundaland and Eastern Indochina appear to have played the key roles as the centers of Pareinae diversification. Our results reveal that both vicariance and dispersal are responsible for current distribution patterns of Pareinae, with tectonic movements, orogeny and paleoclimatic shifts being the probable drivers of diversification. Our study brings the total number of Pareidae species to 41 and further highlights the importance of comprehensive taxonomic revisions not only for the better understanding of biodiversity and its evolution, but also for the elaboration of adequate conservation actions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY