Taxonomic status of Lycodon subcinctus sensu lato in China (Serpentes, Colubridae)

By

Liu, Shuo
Hou, Mian
Cai, Bo
Li, Shimin
Zhang, Zhongxu
Yu, Rui
Rao, Dingqi
Zhang, Liang

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-11-30

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

36

Pages

307--316

Subjects

cytochrome b , Morphology , Phylogeny , Subspecies , systematics , Wolf Snake

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.36.e114206

 

Abstract

The Malayan Banded Wolf Snake Lycodon subcinctus Boie, 1827 once included three subspecies, namely L. s. subcinctus Boie, 1827, L. s. sealei Leviton, 1955, and L. s. maculatus (Cope, 1985). Thereafter, L. s. sealei has been elevated to species level, and the taxonomic status of L. s. maculatus has not been resolved. We sequenced the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene fragments of eight specimens of L. s. maculatus from China, including three from the adjacent areas of its type locality. Combining the sequences obtained from GenBank, we reconstructed a molecular phylogeny and reevaluated the taxonomic status of L. s. maculatus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed three highly divergent lineages within L. subcinctus sensu lato which correspond to L. subcinctus sensu stricto, L. sealei, and L. s. maculatus, respectively. Coupled with morphological comparison, we elevate L. s. maculatus to full species and redescribe it based on the type and freshly collected material.