Title
A revision and key for the tribe Diaphorolepidini (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) and checklist for the genus Synophis
Date Issued
28 September 2016
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Pyron R.A.
Arteaga A.
Torres-Carvajal O.
Pontifícia Universidade Católica Do Rio Grande Do sul
Publisher(s)
Magnolia Press
Abstract
The genus Synophis contains a number of enigmatic species, distributed primarily in the Andean highlands of northern South America. Their extreme crypsis and rarity has precluded detailed study of most species. A recent flurry of collection activity resulted in the accession of many new specimens, and the description of 4 new species in 2015, doubling the num-ber of described taxa. However, lingering questions remain regarding the assignment of many new and historical speci-mens, the morphological limits and geographical ranges of the species, and their phylogenetic relationships. We analyze new and existing morphological and molecular data to produce a new molecular phylogeny and revised morphological descriptions. We validate the previously unavailable tribe name Diaphorolepidini Jenner, Pyron, Arteaga, Echevarría, & Torres-Carvajal tribe nov., describe a 9th species Synophis niceforomariae Pyron, Arteaga, Echevarría, & Torres-Carvajal sp. nov., and offer new Standard Names in English and Spanish for the group: Andean Shadow Snakes and Culebras An-dinas de la Sombra, respectively. A variety of features such as vertebrae and hemipenes show an interesting range of vari-ation in the group, which should be evaluated in future studies, to refine species limits and diagnoses further. Cryptic and undiscovered diversity undoubtedly remains, and we hope this summary provides a robust basis for future work.
Start page
293
End page
320
Volume
4171
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Crías y mascotas Ciencia veterinaria
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84989191875
PubMed ID
Source
Zootaxa
ISSN of the container
11755326
Sponsor(s)
Fundación Nacional de Ciencia DBI-0905765, DEB-1441719 NSF de EE. UU. para RAP Esta investigación fue financiada en parte por GWU Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación SENESCYT y Agradecemos a J. Daza, J. Arredondo, F. Grazziotin y H. Zaher por los datos morfológicos y de secuencia de los especímenes de S. niceforomariae, y a J. Savage por los comentarios sobre el manuscrito.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus