Molecular phylogeny of Atractus (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with emphasis on Ecuadorian species and the description of three new taxa

Abstract

We present a molecular phylogeny of snake genus Atractus, with an improved taxon sampling that includes 30 of the 140 species currently recognized. The phylogenetic tree supports the existence of at least three new species in the Pacific lowlands and adjacent Andean slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, which we describe here. A unique combination of molecular, meristic and color pattern characters support the validity of the new species. With the newly acquired data, we propose and define the Atractus iridescens species group, as well as redefine the Atractus roulei species group. The species Atractus iridescens is reported for the first time in Ecuador, whereas Atractus bocourti and Atractus medusa are removed from the herpetofauna of this country. We provide the first photographic vouchers of live specimens for Atractus multicinctus, Atractus paucidens and Atractus touzeti, along with photographs of 19 other Ecuadorian Atractus species. The current status of Atractus occidentalis and Atractus paucidens is maintained based on the discovery of new material referable to these species. With these changes, the species number reported in Ecuador increases to 27, a number that is likely to increase as material not examined in this work becomes available and included in systematic studies.

Glossidiella peruensis sp. nov., a new digenean (Plagiorchiida: Plagiorchiidae) from the lung of the brown ground snake Atractus major (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from Peru

“…Atractus Wagler, 1828 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) includes nearly 140 species of fossorial colubrids which are widely distribu ted throughout the Neotropical Region, occurring from Panama to Argentina (Myers 2003, Passos and Fernandes 2008, Arteaga et al 2017. The brown ground snake, Atractus major Boulenger, 1894 is a mainly fossorial species, although occasionally it is cryptozoic and terrestrial and it, occurs in Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (Nogueira et al 2016).…”

New records of four reptile species (Lepidosauria, Squamata) from the province of Guayas, southwestern Ecuador

“…Although our knowledge of the diversity and natural history of reptiles in western Ecuador is limited, important herpetological discoveries have been made in recent years, such as new species and significant expansion of the geographic range extensions of previously recorded species (e.g. Jadin et al 2009;Cisneros-Heredia et al 2010;Ortega-Andrade et al 2010;Passos et al 2012;Torres-Carvajal et al 2012, 2015Ayala-Varela et al 2014;Yánez-Muñoz et al 2014Cisneros-Heredia and Romero 2015;Pyron et al 2015;Salazar-Valenzuela et al 2015;Cruz-García 2017;Cruz et al 2017;Arteaga et al 2017Arteaga et al , 2018Reyes-Puig et al 2019).…”

A cost-effective protocol for total DNA isolation from animal tissue

“…liver and muscle), and provide troubleshooting tips to deal with different experimental situations. Using this protocol, we have successfully retrieved DNA from muscle, skin, and liver of vertebrates for downstream PCR applications in phylogenetics [4], phylogeography [5], and diversification [6], but we have also adapted the protocol to isolate DNA from avian blood samples kept in 99% ethanol for malaria detection [7] and from skin swabs of amphibians to detect Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) infection [8].…”