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Mitochondrial phylogeography, intraspecific diversity and phenotypic convergence in the four‐lined snake (Reptilia, Squamata)
Author(s) -
Kornilios Panagiotis,
Thanou Evanthia,
Lymberakis Petros,
Sindaco Roberto,
Liuzzi Cristiano,
Giokas Sinos
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
zoologica scripta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1463-6409
pISSN - 0300-3256
DOI - 10.1111/zsc.12045
Subject(s) - subspecies , biology , phylogeography , vicariance , squamata , allopatric speciation , biogeography , intraspecific competition , biological dispersal , zoology , ecology , taxonomy (biology) , range (aeronautics) , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , population , biochemistry , demography , materials science , sociology , composite material , gene
The four‐lined snake, Elaphe quatuorlineata , has a fragmented distribution, restricted in continental regions and islands of the Italian and Balkan peninsulas, and includes several morphologically described subspecies. In this study, mt DNA sequences are used to investigate its evolutionary and biogeographical history, to explore the role of palaeogeography, palaeoclimate and human activities in shaping the observed phylogeographical patterns and to discuss whether current subspecific taxonomy is consistent with the intraspecific phylogeny. The phylogeography of the species is a result of both vicariant and dispersal events, some of them transmarine and even human mediated. Its diversification began approximately 3.5 Mya and continued during the Pleistocene glacial periods, when the four‐lined snake's range was restricted in the Italian and Balkan peninsulas, and subsequently expanded from subrefugia, which acted as ‘biodiversity pockets’. Our study supports the recognition of three genetic lineages that roughly correspond to the morphological subspecies, although the morphological characters used for their discrimination should be re‐evaluated. It seems that the current morphological subspecies correspond to ecomorphs associated with body size change in island snakes and the island‐dwarfism phenomenon.