A revision of the Trimeresurus puniceus-complex (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) based on morphological and molecular data

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1293 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK DAVID ◽  
GERNOT VOGEL ◽  
S. P. VIJAYAKUMAR ◽  
NICOLAS VIDAL

The brown Asian pitvipers of the genus Trimeresurus related to Trimeresurus puniceus (informal Trimeresurus puniceus-complex) are revised on the basis of morphological and molecular analyses. Variation in morphological characters were investigated among 119 specimens from 62 populations of the whole range of the pitvipers currently known as Trimeresurus puniceus (Boie, 1827), Trimeresurus borneensis (Peters, 1872) and Trimeresurus brongersmai Hoge, 1969. Molecular and morphological analyses clearly differentiate two groups of taxa, referrable to the informal Trimeresurus puniceus-group and Trimeresurus borneensis-group, and confirm the distinct specific status of T. puniceus and T. borneensis. Morphological univariate and multivariate analyses differentiate six clusters of populations that are morphologically diagnosable, of which five are here considered to represent independent lineages and one is placed incertae sedis pending the availability of further specimens. These clusters are considered to be distinct species following the Biological Species Concept and the Phylogenetic Species Concept. One of them is described as a new species, Trimeresurus andalasensis spec. nov. (T. borneensis-group), which includes populations from northern Sumatra. Trimeresurus wiroti Trutnau, 1981 is revalidated to accommodate populations from Thailand and West Malaysia. Trimeresurus borneensis is here considered endemic to Borneo. Trimeresurus puniceus is known from Java and from South Sumatra, but the taxonomy of this species in Sumatra is left unresolved. Also left unresolved is the taxonomic position of specimens from western Sumatra and the Mentawai Archipelago, and from the Natuna Islands and Anamba Islands. Although belonging to the T. puniceus-group, they show some differences to other specimens of the group. They are not referred to any taxon pending the collection of additional specimens. Lastly, Trimeresurus brongersmai is confirmed as a valid species from the Mentawai Archipelago. A key to these taxa is provided.

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2301 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK E. RHEINDT ◽  
JAMES A. EATON

The question of how to define a species continues to divide biologists. Meanwhile, the application of different species concepts has led to disparate taxonomic treatments that confound conservationists and other biologists. The most widely followed guidelines to species designation in avian and other vertebrate taxonomy are Ernst Mayr’s Biological Species Concept (BSC) and Joel Cracraft’s version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept (PSC). Although the BSC is considered to be more conservative in its assignment of species status, there is a lack of research demonstrating differences in taxonomic treatment between the BSC and the PSC with reference to a multi-taxon multi-trait study system. We examined the case of five traditionally recognized species of shrike-babbler (Pteruthius) that have recently been divided into 19 species under the PSC. Re-analyzing previous morphological and molecular data and adding new vocal data, we propose a BSC classification of 9 species. However, taking into consideration geographic gaps in the sampling regime, we contend that additional data will likely reduce discrepancies between the total numbers of species designated under the PSC and BSC. The current PSC species total is a likely overestimate owing to species diagnosis based on characters that erroneously appear to be unique to a taxon at low sample size. The current BSC species total as here proposed is a likely underestimate on account of the conservative designation of taxa as subspecies in equivocal cases, e.g. where BSC species status is potentially warranted but may be masked by insufficient data.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4221 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
LEONARDO ESTEVES LOPES

The Unicolored Blackbird Agelasticus cyanopus (Vieillot, 1819) is a marsh bird with four allopatric subspecies restricted to lowlands in South America east of the Andes. I conducted a taxonomic revision of the species based on analysis of external morphological characters of 288 study skins, including all types available. My revision shows that: 1) Leistes unicolor Swainson, 1838, is a senior synonym of A. c. xenicus (Parkes, 1966) and, therefore, the correct name of the taxon should be A. c. unicolor (Swainson, 1838); 2) the range of A. c. unicolor (Swainson, 1838) is much wider than previously thought, extending from the mouth of the Rio Amazonas to the state of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, where it intergrades with A. c. atroolivaceus (zu Wied-Neuwied, 1831); 3) A. c. atroolivaceus extends its range well beyond the coast of Rio de Janeiro, reaching the coast of São Paulo, the central part of Minas Gerais, Bahia and Espírito Santo; and 4) specimens attributed to A. c. beniensis are highly variable, so this name must be considered a subjective junior synonym of the nominotypical taxon. Under the Biological Species Concept, two broadly parapatric species should be recognized, A. cyanopus and A. atroolivaceus (including unicolor as a subspecies). Under the Phylogenetic Species Concept or the General Lineage Concept of Species, the best taxonomic treatment is to recognize three species: A. cyanopus, A. atroolivaceus, and A. unicolor. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 727 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
GERNOT VOGEL ◽  
PATRICK DAVID ◽  
OLIVIER S.G. PAUWELS

Variation in morphological characters were investigated among 136 specimens (128 specimens examined by us and eight specimens described in the literature) from 44 populations of the whole range of the pitviper currently known as Trimeresurus popeiorum Smith, 1937. Univariate and mul-tivariate analyses of these morphological characters allowed us to recognize six clusters of populations that are morphologically diagnosable, and that are here considered to represent independent lineages. Five of these clusters are considered to be distinct species following the Biological Species Concept and the Phylogenetic Species Concept. Two of them are described as new. Trimeresurus fucatus spec. nov. includes populations from southern Thailand and most of West Malaysia. Trimeresurus nebularis spec. nov. is described for populations from Cameron Highlands of West Malaysia. A population from Toba Massif, northern Sumatra, is referred to this complex, but cannot be assigned to a species at the present time. Trimeresurus popeiorum sabahi is raised to specific status, Trimeresurus sabahi new comb., to accommodate the populations from Borneo, whereas Trimeresurus barati new comb. includes the populations from western Sumatra and the Mentawai Archipelago. Separate keys to the two sexes of the recognised species of the T. popeiorum complex are provided.KEY WORDS: Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Serpentes, Viperidae, Trimeresurus, Trimeresurus popeiorum, Trimeresurus fucatus spec. nov., Trimeresurus nebularis spec. nov., Trimeresurus sabahi, Trimeresurus baratiBefore the paper by Pope & Pope (1933), all green Trimeresurus species were gathered under the name Trimeresurus gramineus (Shaw, 1802). In a first step towards understanding the systematics of the genus, these authors split the nominal taxon gramineus into six species. The specific nomen gramineus was applied to a widespread species, ranging from northeastern India to western Indonesia. Indian populations were referred to a new species described as Trimeresurus occidentalis. Subsequently, Smith (1937) correctly showed that Pope & Pope (1933) misunderstood the type locality of gramineus, and showed that the type locality for T. gramineus was within the range of T. occidentalis. Therefore, Trimeresurus occidentalis Pope & Pope 1933 became a subjective junior synonym of T. gramineus (Shaw, 1802), leaving unnamed the distinct eastern taxon. Smith (1937) named it as Trimeresurus popeiorum. Unfortunately, he failed to designate a type specimen and a type locality for this new taxon. This interpretation was accepted by most subsequent authors except Hoge & Romano Hoge (1981) and Welch (1988). Another issue affecting the specific nomen is its spelling. Smith (1943) corrected the original spelling as popeorum on the basis that it was indeed a clerical error. This spelling was largely accepted, and was the subject of recent controversies. This problem will be addressed in another paper (David & Vogel, submitted). We consider that the correct spelling is indeed popeiorum. Eventually, Taylor & Elbel (1958), regarded as syntypes of Trimeresurus popeiorum Smith, 1937 all specimens referred by Pope & Pope (1933) to as T. gramineus, and designated the specimen BMNH 72.4.17.137 as the lectotype of the species. Consequently, the type locality was restricted to Khasi Hills, Assam , now in the State of Meghalaya, India.


PhytoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jin-Hong Dai ◽  
Qiu-Jie Zhou ◽  
Ren-Chao Zhou ◽  
Ying Liu

Bredia hispida (Sonerileae, Melastomataceae), a species occurring in southeastern Sichuan, China, is newly described based on morphological and molecular data. The generic placement of B. hispida is well supported by phylogenetic analysis and morphological characters, including basally cordate, hairy leaf blade, cymose inflorescence, basally gibbous anthers and enlarged ovary crown enclosing an inverted frustum-shaped depression. Both molecular and morphological divergence showed that B. hispida is well separated from its close relatives, justifying its recognition as a distinct species. The new species resembles B. repens, B. changii and B. guidongensis in the prostrate habit and isomorphic stamens but differs markedly in the unequal opposed leaves, the 2–4 mm long, stout bristles on the adaxial surface of leaf blade and acuminate leaf apex. Bredia hispida co-occurs with B. esquirolii in the wild. No morphologically putative hybrids between them were observed despite their overlap in flowering season. The isolating mechanism remains unclear, pending further investigation.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 455 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-266
Author(s):  
LIANG ZHANG ◽  
LI-BING ZHANG

The biological species concept is not exclusively applicable in many groups of organisms including ferns. Interspecific fern hybrids are not rare: there are 16 intergeneric hybrid genera in ferns confirmed with molecular data. Here we add one more hybrid genus in the tribe Lepisoreae of Polypodiaceae, ×Lepinema, formed via hybridization between parents in two genera: Ellipinema and Lepisorus.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
OCTAVIO R. ROJAS-SOTO ◽  
ADOLFO G. NAVARRO-SIGÜENZA ◽  
ALEJANDRO ESPINOSA DE LOS MONTEROS

SummaryThe taxonomic criteria used as bases for endangered species lists can affect conservation policy decisions. We emphasize that the use of different taxonomic units affects the baselines of such lists. Recent taxonomic reviews for the Mexican avifauna provided the tools for assessing this effect on a highly diverse avifauna which is currently in need of serious conservation actions. Most ornithologists have used a taxonomy based on the biological species concept (BSC) to make decisions on species limits and therefore to set them into endangered species lists. However, the application of the phylogenetic species concept (PSC) as an alternative for delimiting species, results in a different panorama of what should be protected. Our analysis shows that the current official Mexican endangered species list, BSC based, encompasses 371 birds, ranked as 277 species and 94 subspecies. The same list of protected forms changes under the phylogenetic species concept because 47 of them are not recognized as valid species, while another 28 forms merit higher levels of protection. Additionally, under this concept another 11 forms should be candidates for inclusion based on their restricted distribution. We call attention to the fact that the use of one or another species concept affects endangered species lists.


2005 ◽  
Vol 176 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-225
Author(s):  
Jean Génermont

Abstract In 1980, Henri Tintant advocated the usefulness of the biological species concept in paleontology. At this time, this concept was still accepted by many neontologists, but it was already rather severely criticized by some others. In fact, a lot of new concepts appeared in the course of the following two decades. While a few ones are mere adjustments of the biological concept, for instance taking in account ecological criteria, in such a way that it could be applied to clonal organisms, some others, which were developed in connexion with the cladistic theory of taxonomy, are truly new from a conceptual point of view. The diagnosable version of the phylogenetic species concept is somewhat reminiscent of Simpson’s evolutionary species concept, since it accepts phyletic speciation as well as survival of the stem species after a cladogenetic event. One of its more criticizable features, from a cladistic point of view, is that the species are not necessarilly monophyletic. On another hand, according to the monophyly version of the phylogenetic species concept, species are recognized rather subjectively as monophyletic taxa revealed by some previous cladistic analysis dealing with operational taxonomic units. A consensus on the definition of species cannot be expected, since all concepts related to the biological one are founded on population grouping on the basis of potentially identical evolutionary fates, while those which are related to cladistic taxonomy are exclusively concerned with historical features.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 275 (3) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
MINE KOÇYIĞIT ◽  
ALEXEY P. SEREGIN ◽  
NERIMAN ÖZHATAY ◽  
NIKOLAI FRIESEN

The taxonomy of the Allium saxatile group (sect. Oreiprason) has been studied recently upon morphological and molecular data. New specimens collected from the European part of Turkey near the Istranca Mountains and identified as ‘A. saxatile’ proved to be a new species confirmed by sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and two plastid DNA regions (rpl32–trnL and trnL–trnF) and supported by morphological characters. Allium urusakiorum, a new species from the A. saxatile group, is described here through living and herbarium specimens. It is the only species of the sect. Oreiprason in the country and seems to be an endemic species of the Turkish flora. Characteristics of the species include morphological description, identification key, molecular dataset, and karyotype (2n = 16).


Phytotaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARC PIGNAL ◽  
ROXANA YOCKTENG ◽  
DAVID J. HEARN ◽  
JEAN-NOËL LABAT

Morphological characters support the description of a new species of Passifloraceae from Mayotte Island: Adenia barthelatii M. Pignal, Yockteng, Hearn & Labat. Morphological and molecular data suggest that A. barthelatii belongs to the ‘warty-gland’ subclade of Clade V defined by Hearn elsewhere. Since the warty-gland clade is restricted to the Malagasy region we suggest a Malagasy origin of this Maorian species of Adenia.


ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 766 ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menglin Wang ◽  
Aimin Shi ◽  
Thierry Bourgoin

A new genusSinonissusgen. n.of the tribe Issini (Issidae, Issinae) with a new speciesSinonissusbrunetussp. n.from Chongqing municipality and Sichuan Province, China are described. Barcode of the species is provided. A molecular analysis combined with morphological characters confirms its placement into the Issini. Distribution of this new genus in the Oriental realm is briefly discussed in regard of other Issinae taxa in China.


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