Molecular phylogeny of the tribe Philodryadini Cope, 1886 (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae): Rediscovering the diversity of the South American Racers

GRAZZIOTIN, F. G; BONATTO, S. L.; ARREDONDO, J. C.; RODRIGUEZ, M. T.; SCROCCHI, G.; ZAHER, H.

PAPéIS AVULSOS DE ZOOLOGIA.

Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brasil

Lugar: Sao Paulo; Año: 2020 vol. 60 p. 1 - 18

0031-1049

South American racers of the tribe Philodryadini are a widespread anddiverse group of Neotropical snakes with a complex taxonomic andsystematic history. Recent studies failed to present a robustphylogenetic hypothesis for the tribe, mainly due to incomplete taxonsampling. Here we provide the most extensive molecular phylogeneticanalysis of Philodryadini available so far, including 20 species (83%of the known diversity) from which six were not sampled previously.Our results reveal that Philodryadini is not monophyletic, butinstead includes a central Andean clade formed by Philodryassimonsii, P. tachymenoides, and P. amaru, and a southern andcis-Andean clade including all remaining philodryadines. Thisdiscovery requires resurrection of two genera as well as erection ofa new tribe of Xenodontinae for the central Andean clade. Within thesouthern and cis-Andean radiation, our analyses resolve a basaldichotomy separating two main lineages: Clade A, containing theCommon Green Racers P. laticeps and P. viridissima and the SouthAmerican Vine snakes P. georgeboulengeri and P. argentea; and CladeB, including the remaining species of Philodryas sensu stricto. Weresurrect the genera Chlorosoma and Xenoxybelis to better representthe monophyly of lineages within the southern and cis-Andean clade.p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }