New insights into the phylogeny and evolution of Chinese Ovophis (Serpentes, Viperidae): Inferred from multilocus data

Abstract

The Asian pitviper genus Ovophis is a group of venomous snakes widely distributed in mid to high elevation mountains in Asia, and presently five species are recognised. However, its systematics, species diversity and species distribution boundaries remain poorly understood. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships and explored species diversity of Chinese Ovophis based on two mitochondrial fragments (Cyt b and ND4) and four nuclear genes (BACH1, c-mos, Rag1, NT3) and also conducted a morphological comparison between focal species. Our results indicated that the species diversity had been underestimated within Ovophis and we described a population from southern Yunnan, China, as a new taxon, naming it as Ovophis malhotrae sp. nov. Based on more extensive sampling, we redefined the distribution of O. monticola and O. makazayazaya in China. Divergence date estimation suggested that Ovophis originated at about 16.79 Ma in the middle Miocene.

First record of two species of venomous snakes Bungarus suzhenae and Ovophis zayuensis (Serpentes: Elapidae, Viperidae) from India

“…There are eight species in the viperid genus Ovophis (Burger, 1981), namely: O. makazayazaya (Takahashi, 1922); O. jenkinsi Qiu et al, 2024; O. malhotrae Zeng, Li, Liu, Wu, Hou, Zhao, Nguyen, Guo & Shi, 2023;O. monticola (Gunther, 1864); O. okinavensis (Boulenger, 1892); O. tonkinensis (Bourret, 1934); and O. zayuensis (Jiang, 1977) (Malhotra et al 2011;Zeng et al 2023;Qiu et al 2024;Uetz et al 2024). The southernmost record of O. zayuensis is from Zayu, Motuo, Xizang province, China.…”