Snakes across the Strait: trans-Torresian phylogeographic relationships in three genera of Australasian snakes (Serpentes : Elapidae : Acanthophis, Oxyuranus, and Pseudechis)

TY - JOUR

T1 - Snakes across the Strait: trans-Torresian phylogeographic relationships in three genera of Australasian snakes (Serpentes : Elapidae : Acanthophis, Oxyuranus, and Pseudechis)

AU - Wuster, W

AU - Dumbrell, A J

AU - Hay, C

AU - Pook, C E

AU - Williams, D J

AU - Fry, B G

PY - 2005/1

Y1 - 2005/1

N2 - We analyze the phylogeny of three genera of Australasian elapid snakes (Acanthophis-death adders; Oxyuranus-taipans; Pseudechis-black snakes), using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analysis of sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND4 genes. In Acanthophis and Pseudechis, we find evidence of multiple trans-Torresian sister-group relationships. Analyses of the timing of cladogenic events suggest crossings of the Torres Strait on several occasions between the late Miocene and the Pleistocene. These results support a hypothesis of repeated land connections between Australia and New Guinea m the late Cenozoic. Additionally, our results reveal undocumented genetic diversity in Acanthophis and Pseudechis, supporting the existence of more species than previously believed, and provide a phylogenetic framework for a reinterpretation of the systematic's of these genera. In contrast, our Oxyuranus scutellatus samples from Queensland and two localities in New Guinea share a single haplotype, suggesting very recent (late Pleistocene) genetic exchange between New Guinean and Australian populations. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AB - We analyze the phylogeny of three genera of Australasian elapid snakes (Acanthophis-death adders; Oxyuranus-taipans; Pseudechis-black snakes), using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analysis of sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND4 genes. In Acanthophis and Pseudechis, we find evidence of multiple trans-Torresian sister-group relationships. Analyses of the timing of cladogenic events suggest crossings of the Torres Strait on several occasions between the late Miocene and the Pleistocene. These results support a hypothesis of repeated land connections between Australia and New Guinea m the late Cenozoic. Additionally, our results reveal undocumented genetic diversity in Acanthophis and Pseudechis, supporting the existence of more species than previously believed, and provide a phylogenetic framework for a reinterpretation of the systematic's of these genera. In contrast, our Oxyuranus scutellatus samples from Queensland and two localities in New Guinea share a single haplotype, suggesting very recent (late Pleistocene) genetic exchange between New Guinean and Australian populations. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KW - phylogeography

KW - mitochondrial DNA

KW - Australia

KW - New Guinea

KW - arafura shelf

KW - Acanthophis

KW - Pseudechis

KW - Oxyuranus

KW - BAYESIAN PHYLOGENETIC INFERENCE

KW - MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA SEQUENCES

KW - CYTOCHROME-B GENE

KW - PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

KW - MOLECULAR EVOLUTION

KW - DIVERGENCE TIMES

KW - VENOMOUS SNAKES

KW - ABSOLUTE RATES

KW - CONSERVATION

KW - SYSTEMATICS

U2 - 10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.018

DO - 10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.018

M3 - Article

SN - 1055-7903

VL - 34

SP - 114

JO - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

JF - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

IS - 1

ER -