Author:
Murphy John C.,Braswell Alvin L.,Charles Stevland P.,Auguste Renoir J.,Rivas Gilson A.,Borzée Amaël,Lehtinen Richard M.,Jowers Michael J.
Abstract
Tobago is a small island on the southeast edge of the Caribbean Plate with a continental flora and fauna. Using DNA sequences from Genbank, new sequences, and morphological data from the snakesErythrolamprusepinephalus,E.melanotus,E.reginae, andE.zweifeli, the species status of specimens of a Tobago snake previously considered to beErythrolamprusreginaewas assessed.Erythrolampruszweifeli, long considered a subspecies ofE.reginae, was found to be a northern Venezuela-Trinidad endemic and the sister toE.reginae. The trans-Andean speciesE.epinephalusis shown to be non-monophyletic while the Costa Rican lineage ofE.epinephalusis weakly supported as the sister to the Tobago population. The TobagoErythrolamprusis described as a distinct taxon based upon five specimens from four localities in lower montane rainforest. Much of the new species range includes the Main Ridge Forest Reserve of Tobago, the oldest protected forest in the Western Hemisphere. All known locations fall within a 400-ha area, and its total geographic distribution is likely to be less than 4,566 ha. The restricted distribution of this new snake makes it a likely candidate for threatened status. The new species also becomes another biogeographic link between northern Venezuela and Tobago.
Subject
Animal Science and Zoology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference51 articles.
1. The Natural Vegetation of the Island of Tobago, British West Indies
2. Synopsis of the species of Holcosus and Ameiva, with diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.;Cope,1862
3. Systematics of the Latin American snake, Liophisepinephalus (Serpentes: Colubridae).;Dixon;Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Boston,1983a
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献