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Weinell JL, Burbrink FT, Das S, Brown RM. Novel phylogenomic inference and 'Out of Asia' biogeography of cobras, coral snakes and their allies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240064. [PMID: 39113776 PMCID: PMC11303032 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Estimation of evolutionary relationships among lineages that rapidly diversified can be challenging, and, in such instances, inaccurate or unresolved phylogenetic estimates can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding historical geographical ranges of lineages. One example underscoring this issue has been the historical challenge posed by untangling the biogeographic origin of elapoid snakes, which includes numerous dangerously venomous species as well as species not known to be dangerous to humans. The worldwide distribution of this lineage makes it an ideal group for testing hypotheses related to historical faunal exchanges among the many continents and other landmasses occupied by contemporary elapoid species. We developed a novel suite of genomic resources, included worldwide sampling, and inferred a robust estimate of evolutionary relationships, which we leveraged to quantitatively estimate geographical range evolution through the deep-time history of this remarkable radiation. Our phylogenetic and biogeographical estimates of historical ranges definitively reject a lingering former 'Out of Africa' hypothesis and support an 'Out of Asia' scenario involving multiple faunal exchanges between Asia, Africa, Australasia, the Americas and Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey L. Weinell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS66045, USA
- Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY10024, USA
| | - Frank T. Burbrink
- Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY10024, USA
| | - Sunandan Das
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki00014, Finland
| | - Rafe M. Brown
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS66045, USA
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Santos BS, Marques MP, Ceríaco LMP. Lack of country-wide systematic herpetology collections in Portugal jeopardizes future research and conservation. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2024; 96:e20230622. [PMID: 38451598 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202420230622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Natural History Collections (NHCs) represent the world's largest repositories of long-term biodiversity datasets. Specimen collection and voucher deposition has been the backbone of NHCs since their inception, but recent decades have seen a drastic decline in rates of growth via active collecting. Amphibians and reptiles are amongst the most threatened zoological groups on the planet and are historically underrepresented in most worldwide NHCs. As part of an ongoing project to review the Portuguese zoological collections in the country's NHCs, herpetological data from its three major museums and smaller collections was gathered and used to examine the coverage and representation of the different taxa extant in Portugal. These collections are not taxonomically, geographically, or temporally complete. Approximately 90% of the Portuguese herpetological taxa are represented in the country's NHCs, and around half of the taxa are represented by less than 50 specimens. Geographically, the collections cover less than 30% of the country's territory and almost all of the occurring taxa have less than 10% of their known distribution represented in the collections. A discussion on the implications for science of such incomplete collections and a review of the current status of Portuguese NHCs is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruna S Santos
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Mariana P Marques
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, U.S.A
| | - Luis M P Ceríaco
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, U.S.A
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boavista, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- Departamento de Zoologia e Antropologia (Museu Bocage), Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Rua da Escola Politécnica, 58, 1269-102 Lisboa, Portugal
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Mezzasalma M, Brunelli E, Odierna G, Guarino FM. Comparative cytogenetics of Hemorrhois hippocrepis and Malpolon monspessulanus highlights divergent karyotypes in Colubridae and Psammophiidae (Squamata: Serpentes). THE EUROPEAN ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/24750263.2023.2180547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- M. Mezzasalma
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - E. Brunelli
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - G. Odierna
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - F. M. Guarino
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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Georgalis GL, Szyndlar Z. First occurrence of Psammophis (Serpentes) from Europe witnesses another Messinian herpetofaunal dispersal from Africa - biogeographic implications and a discussion of the vertebral morphology of psammophiid snakes. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022; 305:3263-3282. [PMID: 35139258 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We here describe abundant new snake material from the late Miocene (MN 13) of Salobreña, Spain. Vertebral morphology suggests a referral of the specimens to the extant psammophiid Psammophis, documenting the first occurrence of this genus in Europe. The diversity and disparity across the vertebral morphology of different psammophiid genera is discussed. We identify vertebral features that could diagnose Psammophis and therefore enable the recognition of the genus in the fossil record. A comparison of the new Spanish form with other taxa is conducted. We provide a detailed review of the psammophiid fossil record. Material previously described from the middle Miocene of Beni Mellal, Morocco is here tentatively referred to as? Psammophis sp., an action that renders that occurrence as the oldest (probable) record of the genus and Psammophiidae as a whole, providing thus a potential calibration point. On the other hand, Eastern European Pliocene material that had been previously supposedly referred to Psammophis is here discarded as being rather fragmentary, not affording any more precise determination. The two psammophiid genera Psammophis and Malpolon appear almost simultaneously in the European fossil record (MN 13), with the former achieving only a short-lived and apparently geographically limited distribution in the continent, while the latter still exists in its modern herpetofauna. We assess biogeographic implications of the new find, suggesting a direct dispersal event from northwestern Africa to the Iberian Peninsula during the late Miocene, facilitated by the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios L Georgalis
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016, Kraków, Poland
| | - Zbigniew Szyndlar
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016, Kraków, Poland
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