Geographic Variation and Taxonomy of the Sand Snakes, Chilomeniscus (Squamata: Colubridae)

Grismer, L. Lee; Wong, H.Y.; Galina-Tessaro, Patricia

doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2002)058[0018:gvatot]2.0.co;2

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…There are two currently recognized species within the sand snakes of the genus Chilomeniscus (Grismer et al 2002): C. stramineus and C. savagei (note that some morphological data potentially support five species; Holm 2008). All members of this genus have an elongated rostrum and are adapted to sandy, scrubby, and arid habitats in northern Mexico and south-western USA.…”

Section: Taxonomic History Of Sonora Chilomeniscus and Chionactismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chilomeniscus was first described by Cope (1866) for the species C. stramineus. This species is found throughout Baja California, north-western Mexico, and south-western USA according to Grismer et al (2002), but restricted to the southern tip of Baja California by Holm (2008). A closely related island species (C. savagei) is limited to Cerralvo Island off the south-eastern coast of Baja California Sur and is recognized in both recent studies (Grismer et al 2002;Holm 2008).…”

Section: Taxonomic History Of Sonora Chilomeniscus and Chionactismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the Sonorini, relationships within the subgroup and monophyletic clade that includes Chionactis, Chilomeniscus and Sonora has long confounded herpetological taxonomists because of homoplastic morphological characters, rampant colour polymorphism, and differing opinions about the taxonomic significance of unique caudal and rostral modifications (e.g. file tails and shovel noses) present only in certain species (Stickel 1938(Stickel , 1943Frost and VanDevender 1979;Frost 1983aFrost , 1983bGrismer et al 2002;Wood et al 2014). When such idiosyncratic characters cannot unite species into subgroups, the potential exists for surprising relationships among species and patterns of phenotypic evolution, convergence, and stasis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dynamic colour evolution and potential for morphological conservatism within the clade containing Chilomeniscus, Chionactis and Sonora has led to a complex and confusing taxonomic history. The genus of Chilomeniscus contains the sand snakes, with most scientists recognizing two species based upon morphological evidence (Grismer et al 2002;although Holm 2008 recognizes five species). The genus Chionactis has received more attention recently and was found to be composed of three species that are delimited both by colour and molecular data (Wood et al 2013(Wood et al , 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synopsis and taxonomic revision of three genera in the snake tribe Sonorini

Cox

Rabosky

Holmes

et al. 2018

Journal of Natural History

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Delimiting species is a crucial goal of integrative biology, and yet can be misled by homoplasy and high levels of morphological variation. The snake tribe Sonorini contains three genera that have long confounded taxonomists: Chilomeniscus, Chionactis and Sonora. Dynamic colour evolution in this group, including rampant geographic variation in colour and colour polymorphism, has led to a chaotic taxonomy. We used mitochondrial and high-throughput nuclear data (ddRADseq) and complete taxonomic sampling of each genus to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and systematically revise the genus. Our research revealed that Sonora is paraphyletic with regards to Chilomeniscus and Chionactis and that at least one species (S. semiannulata) is paraphyletic with respect to at least one other recognized species. Additionally, we found substantial undescribed genetic diversity within multiple species which is incongruent with morphological variation in coloration. Accordingly, we proposed synonymizing Chionactis and Chilomeniscus with Sonora, which has taxonomic priority over both genera. As we found genetic evidence that supported some of the historically delimited diversity within multiple taxa, we revised species-level taxonomy accordingly. This new taxonomy recognizes a revised genus of Sonora that contains 15 species of diminutive and often brightly coloured snakes that are distributed from central Mexico to north-western USA. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:45A553D8-6435-4E0A-84ED-DF31E2CCD872

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Section: Taxonomic History Of Sonora Chilomeniscus and Chionactismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Taxonomic History Of Sonora Chilomeniscus and Chionactismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Synopsis and taxonomic revision of three genera in the snake tribe Sonorini

Cox

Rabosky

Holmes

et al. 2018

Journal of Natural History

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“…In such cases, chromatic polymorphism may provide a wide range of variation that enables, for example, avoidance of visual recognition by creating patterns that tend to match natural substrates in their environments ( Duellman & Trueb, 1994 ; Hoffman & Blouin, 2000 ). At the taxonomic level, however, chromatic variation can generate confusion among taxonomists, although precise descriptions of external characteristics (such as intra- and interspecific colouration patterns), could potentially reduce or even resolve serious species identification or classification problems ( Grismer, Wong & Galina-Tessaro, 2002 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polymorphism in a Neotropical toad species: ontogenetic, populational and geographic approaches to chromatic variation inProceratophrys cristiceps(Müller, 1883) (Amphibia, Anura, Odontophrynidae)

Vieira

Oliveira

Vieira

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Quantifying variability is important for understanding how evolution operates in polymorphic species such as those of the genus Proceratophrys Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920, which is widely distributed in South America. P. cristiceps distribution is limited to the Caatinga biome in Brazil. We examined its chromatic variation from a populational perspective, looking at different phenetic polymorphism levels and probable chromotypic association by applying statistical and GIS tools that could facilitate future taxonomic research regarding this and other species. We characterized P. cristiceps colour patterns and re-evaluated its geographic variation, highlighting potential consequences for the taxonomy of the genus. Our results revealed six principle chromotypes whose frequencies varied among sex and ontogenetic classes. Phenotypic expression appeared to respect defined proportions and evidenced selective value for the species. We conclude that individual variation, together with typological traditionalism may overestimate the polymorphic magnitude at the population level and cause taxonomic inflation. Our data support the usefulness of P. cristiceps as a model for microevolutionary studies.

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