Phylogeny and biogeography of Arabian populations of the Persian Horned ViperPseudocerastes persicus(Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Zoology in The Middle East, 2016
The Persian Horned Viper (Pseudocerastes persicus) is distributed from northeast Iraq through the Iranian Plateau to western Pakistan with isolated populations in the Hajar Mountains of southeastern Arabia. Like the other members of the genus Pseudocerastes, P. persicus is a sit-and-wait ambush feeder with low vagility, a characteristic that often results in high levels of population differentiation. In order to clarify the level of genetic variability, phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography of the Arabian populations of P. persicus we sequenced 597 base pairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome b of four individuals from the Hajar Mountains in southeastern Arabia and inferred their phylogenetic relationships including 10 samples of P. persicus from Iran and Pakistan, four P. urarachnoides and one P. fieldi downloaded from GenBank. The four Arabian samples are genetically very similar in the gene fragment analysed and are phylogenetically very closely related to populations of P. persicus from coastal south Iran. Biogeographically, it appears that colonisation of the Hajar Mountains by P. persicus took place from Iran very recently, most probably during the last glaciation, when most of the Persian Gulf was above sea level and did not represent a barrier for dispersal.
2020
The Arabian Horned Viper, <i>Cerastes gasperettii</i>, is distributed along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula south and east across the Arabian Peninsula to Iraq, Kuwait and western Iran comprising two subspecies: <i>Cerastes. g. mendelssohni</i> in the Arava valley (Israel and Jordan) and <i>C. g. gasperettii</i> in the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran. Phylogenetic relationships based on Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Inference, haplotype networks, and genetic divergence among different populations of <i>C. gasperettii</i> are analysed in this study. Two mitochondrial (<i>12S</i> and <i>Cytb</i>) and two nuclear partial genes (<i>C-mos</i> and <i>MC1R</i>) with uneven distribution among the individuals were used to infer phylogenetic relationships. Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic tree indicates a dichotomy separating a southern (Oman, UAE, Yemen) from a northern clade (I...
Zoology in the Middle East, 2016
The Saw-scaled vipers of the species Echis carinatus range from Sri Lanka and India westwards to Iraq, including the eastern Arabian Peninsula. We collected the species in southern Iraq and compared two mtDNA genes (16S and Cyt b) with other populations of this species and with other species of the genus. Analyses of both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference confirmed E. carinatus as a monophyletic species. The samples from Iraq cluster with populations of the species from Pakistan and UAE. Populations from India, however, are situated in a separate phylogenetic lineage. This can be explained by the geographic barriers between western (Iraq, Pakistan and UAE) and eastern (India) populations of the species. Soleyman Mountain in southern Pakistan is the main barrier between them and its role is reflected in the genetic distance between populations.
Recent advances in phylogeny and taxonomy of Near and Middle Eastern vipers–an update
2009
Th e number of recognized viper species in the Near and Middle East has been raised signifi cantly in the last 25 years (Table 1). While some smaller genera remained more or less stable, the genus Vipera has been subdivided into four genera on the basis of molecular genetic data. Of these genera, Daboia contains the former Vipera palaestinae and D. russelii, Macrovipera the species M. lebetina, M. schweizeri and an un-described, basal species from Iran, and Montivipera the former Vipera xanthina and V. raddei complexes. While the genetic diversity in the M. raddei complex is fairly low, it is high in the M. xanthina complex. Th is may give reason to synonymize several taxa in the M. raddei complex, while new taxa can be described in the Turkish M. xanthina complex. Th e number of known species in the Middle Eastern Saw-scaled vipers (genus Echis) must be raised from 2 to 6. Th ese species belong to 3 diff erent species complexes (an Asian, an African and an Arabian complex). A parti...
TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, 2014
The false horned vipers of the genus Pseudocerastes consist of 3 species; all have been recorded in Iran. These include Pseudocerastes persicus, P. fieldi, and P. urarachnoides. Morphologically, the taxonomic border between P. fieldi and P. persicus is not as clear as that between P. urarachnoides and P. persicus or P. fieldi. Regarding the weak diagnostic characters differentiating P. fieldi from P. persicus and very robust characters separating P. urarachnoides from both, there may arise some uncertainty in the exact taxonomic status of P. urarachnoides and whether it should remain at the current specific level or be elevated to a distinct genus. Based on our sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, the taxonomic status of the 3 false horned vipers is confirmed. Although P. fieldi has equal genetic distance from P. persicus and P. urarachnoides, the spider-tailed viper is more closely related to P. persicus than P. fieldi. There are also some subdivisions among the populations of P. persicus in Iran.
The Near and Middle East is a hotspot of biodiversity, but the region remains underexplored at the level of genetic biodiversity. Here, we present an extensive molecular phylogeny of the viperid snake genus Montivipera, including all known taxa. Based on nuclear and mitochondrial data, we present novel insights into the phylogeny of the genus and review the status of its constituent species. Maximum likelihood methods revealed a montane origin of Montivipera at 12.3 Mya. We then analyzed factors of mountain viper diversity. Our data support substantial changes in effective population size through Plio–Pleistocene periods. We conclude that climatic oscillations were drivers of allopatric speciation, and that mountain systems of the Near and Middle East have strongly influenced the evolution and survival of taxa, because climatic and topographical heterogeneities induced by mountains have played a crucial role as filters for dispersal and as multiple refugia. The wide diversity of montane microhabitats enabled mountain vipers to retain their ecological niche during climatic pessima. In consequence the varied geological and topographical conditions between refugia favoured genetic isolation and created patterns of species richness resulting in the formation of neoendemic taxa. Our data support high concordance between geographic distributions of Montivipera haplotypes with putative plant refugia.
Herpetozoa
This study presents the first molecular evidence of Macrovipera razii from central Zagros, more than 300 km north-west of its prior records in southern Iran. Molecular analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences identified the individuals from central Zagros as a lineage of M. razii. Specimens from the new localities are separated by a genetic distance of 1.46% from the known populations of M. razii. The results extend the known distribution range of M. razii as an endemic species of Iran.
A mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of the endangered vipers of the Vipera ursinii complex
The last two populations of the Hungarian meadow viper Vipera ursinii rakosiensis were thought to persist in the steppe fragments of Hungary until meadow vipers were discovered in central Romania (Transyl-vania), suggesting a possible existence of remnant populations elsewhere. We assessed the phylogenetic position of the Transylvanian vipers using 2030 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequence. We showed that they were closely related to the Hungarian vipers, while those from northeastern Romania (Moldavia) and Danube Delta belonged to the subspecies Vipera ursinii moldavica. Montane subspecies from Europe (Vipera ursinii ursinii and Vipera ursinii macrops) formed a sister clade to the two lowland subspecies. Vipera renardi formed a sister clade to V. ursinii, with populations from the Greater Caucasus (Vipera renardi lotievi) and Tien Shan (Vipera renardi tienshanica) as the sister group to Vipera renardi renardi, and Vipera renardi eriwanensis from the Lesser Caucasus as the most basal taxon in the species. Our results illustrate that the divergence between the lowland and montane populations occurred separately in each species and several times in V. renardi. We demonstrated that the recently discovered Transylvanian population is the third surviving population of V. u. rakosiensis and the only known population outside of Hungary.
Scientific Reports
Iran is a mountainous country with more than half of its mainland covered by mountains 8. The Alborz encompasses a series of mountain ranges extending from northwestern to northeastern Iran 9. The formation of the Alborz Mountains was first initiated during the Paleocene and the rugged landscape of the Alborz took shape during the early Cenozoic. This uplift was the outcome of an expansive movement throughout Iran as well as the Caucasian Mountains 10,11. In addition, the Hyrcanian forests along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea rank among the most important forest remnants in western Eurasia and are characterized by having one of the most ecologically valuable biodiversity hotspots in the Middle East 8. Recent research indicates that continental glaciers in Iran during the Pleistocene 12,13 , as well as the current climate change in northern Iran 14 , could have, respectively, led to latitudinal and altitudinal distribution shifts in a number of species, particularly poikilothermic animals, which are noted for their sensitivity to changes in temperature 15. The Caucasian pit viper Gloydius halys caucasicus (Nikolsky, 1916) is distributed throughout southeastern Azerbaijan, southern Turkmenistan (Kopet Dagh Mountains), from northeastern to northwestern Iran, and northwestern Afghanistan, and is relatively common across the Alborz Mountains. This viper is a member of the G. halys/G. intermedius species complex, which represents a group of closely related vipers of the Crotalinae subfamily (Viperidae), including a total of nine taxa: G. halys halys, G. h. caucasicus, G. caraganus, G. cognatus, G. stejnegeri, G. rickmersi, G. shedaoensis, G. changdaoensis, and G. intermedius 16-19. With a widespread range in the Palearctic, they inhabit a spectrum of various biotopes distributed across an extensive territory from Azerbaijan and Iran through several countries of Central Asia to eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and China 17,20-22. Although this complex has been the focus of numerous phylogenetic 16,17,20,23-28 , morphological 24,29 , ecological 30,31 , and captive-breeding studies 32 , it remains an enigmatic species group. The intricacy arises out of a recent discovery of a morphologically and genetically distinct species 17 , evincing the fact that the diversity within this complex is most likely underestimated. Additionally, Wagner et al. 17 proposed the elevation of the Caucasian pit viper from subspecies to species rank. This was later accepted by Shi et al. (2016, 2017). Moreover, Shi et al. 19 argued for elevation of two other subspecies G. h. cognatus and G. h. stejnegeri, to the full species rank, which was later reaffirmed by Shi et al. 18. The Caucasian pit viper occupies a diverse range of habitat types, from 30 m to about 3,000 m above sea level, within northern and southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains, thus serving as an ideal example to evaluate phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns of a terrestrial poikilothermic species in northern Iran. Even though this species has been under intensive exploitation for venom milking by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute since 1924 26 , the details of its evolutionary history and population structure have remained poorly understood to this day 17,33,34. Developments in molecular taxonomy and barcoding techniques allow rapid detection of cryptic diversity 35. It has been demonstrated that combining molecular, morphological, ecological, and biological data is a crucial key to detecting cryptic species, especially in less well-known areas. Moreover, the growing concern toward conservation of genetic diversity calls for accurately defining evolutionary significant units (ESUs) based on evolutionary histories of relevant taxa 36 (see 37 for a review of ESU definitions), as species-based units cannot always prove applicable to all conservation strategies 38. Thus, phylogenetic and phylogeographic inferences are applied to conservation planning below the species level 13,39. In this study, we sought to better understand the phylogeny, phylogeography, and taxonomic reassessment of G. h. caucasicus across its entire distribution range in Iran and Azerbaijan, using partial mtDNA sequences of the Cytochrome b (cyt b) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4) genes, as well as the nuclear proto oncogene c-mos. We (i) delineated the entire geographically defined evolutionary lineages of this viper and their spatial distribution from northeastern to northwestern Iran and southern Azerbaijan. We (ii) performed coalescent simulations to compare several historical biogeographical hypotheses (single refugium or multiple refugia, along with one-way or two-way gene flows) that involve lineage diversification within this viper. Then, we (iii) used statistical phylogenetic methods to evaluate the taxonomic status of this subspecies within the G. halys/G. intermedius species complex. Finally, (iv) we used our analyses to uncover patterns of historical migration of the species to Transcaucasia and to define ESUs of this viper. Given the genetic structure and distribution of the Iranian lineages, we proposed some recommendations for effective conservation of all phylogenetically significant lineages of the Caucasian pit viper in Iran.