Sampaio, Filipa L;
Day, Julia J;
Wickramasinghe, Mendis;
Cyriac, Vivek P;
Papadopoulou, Anna;
Brace, Selina;
Rajendran, Albert;
... Gower, David J; + view all
(2023)
A near-complete species-level phylogeny of uropeltid snakes harnessing historical museum collections as a DNA source.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
, 178
, Article 107651. 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107651.
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Abstract
Uropeltidae is a clade of small fossorial snakes (ca. 65 extant species) endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Uropeltid taxonomy has been confusing, and the status of some species has not been revised for over a century. Attempts to revise uropeltid systematics and undertake evolutionary studies have been hampered by incompletely sampled and incompletely resolved phylogenies. To address this issue, we take advantage of historical museum collections, including type specimens, and apply genome-wide shotgun (GWS) sequencing, along with recent field sampling (using Sanger sequencing) to establish a near-complete multilocus species-level phylogeny (ca. 87% complete at species level). This results in a phylogeny that supports the monophyly of all genera (if Brachyophidium is considered a junior synonym of Teretrurus), and provides a firm platform for future taxonomic revision. Sri Lankan uropeltids are probably monophyletic, indicating a single colonisation event of this island from Indian ancestors. However, the position of Rhinophis goweri (endemic to Eastern Ghats, southern India) is unclear and warrants further investigation, and evidence that it may nest within the Sri Lankan radiation indicates a possible recolonisation event. DNA sequence data and morphology suggest that currently recognised uropeltid species diversity is substantially underestimated. Our study highlights the benefits of integrating museum collections in molecular genetic analyses and their role in understanding the systematics and evolutionary history of understudied organismal groups.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A near-complete species-level phylogeny of uropeltid snakes harnessing historical museum collections as a DNA source |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107651 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107651 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | India, Reptilia, Sri Lanka, Uropeltidae, high-throughput sequencing, historical DNA, phylogenetics, shieldtail snakes, species delimitation, systematics |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10158719 |
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