 |
| Limnophis branchi
Conradie, Deepak, Keates & Gower, 2020
Photo: Bill Branch.
|
ABSTRACT
The African natricine genus Limnophis is represented by two species: Limnophis bicolor Günther, 1865 and Limnophis bangweolicus (Mertens, 1936). They are stout-bodied, semi-aquatic snakes that mostly feed on fish and amphibians, and occur from Botswana and Namibia in the south throughout most of Zambia and Angola to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the north. We gathered new material from the ranges of both species in Angola and Zambia in order to examine their taxonomic status and identify any overlooked diversity. We constructed a phylogenetic tree, based on three mitochondrial genes (16S, cytb, ND4) and one nuclear gene (cmos), which includes the first DNA sequence data for Limnophis. Three well-supported lineages were identified, each representing separate species. The taxonomic status of the two currently recognised species is validated, and we describe a new species of Limnophis from north-eastern Angola. The new species is distinguished from the others by the combination of distinct ventral and lateral head colouration and patterning, differences in head and ventral scalation, and uncorrected pairwise genetic distances to both L. bicolor and L. bangweolicus of 5.4–8.1% in cytb, 6.1–8.4% in ND4 and 2.7–8.3% in 16S.
KEYWORDS: Africa, cryptic species, geometric morphometrics, integrative taxonomy, Serpentes, swamp snake
 |
| Limnophis branchi sp. nov. (paratype – PEM R19466)
Photo: Bill Branch.
|
Limnophis branchi sp. nov.
Branch’s Swamp Snake
Etymology – We name this new snake species in honour of the late William ‘Bill’ Roy
Branch (1947–2018), Curator Emeritus of Herpetology at Port Elizabeth Museum, in recognition of his many contributions to African herpetology, especially in Angola during the
latter part of his career. The lead author was introduced to reptile systematics and
Angolan herpetology by Bill and is grateful for his guidance and mentorship over the
years. The name is masculine in gender.
Werner Conradie,V. Deepak, Chad Keates and David J. Gower. 2020. Kissing Cousins: A Review of the African Genus Limnophis Günther, 1865 (Colubridae: Natricinae), with the Description of A New Species from north-eastern Angola. African Journal of Herpetology. DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2020.1782483
twitter.com/DeepakVeerappan/status/1281114378151038976
RESUMO: O género africano de natricíneos Limnophis contém duas espécies: Limnophis bicolor Günther, 1865 e Limnophis bangweolicus (Mertens, 1936). Estas cobras semi-aquáticas de corpo robusto alimentam-se principalmente de peixes e anfíbios, e ocorrem no sul de África entre o Botswana e a Namíbia, para norte em grande parte da Zâmbia e Angola até à República Democrática do Congo. Nós colhemos material da área de distribuição de ambas as espécies em Angola e na Zâmbia para examinar o seu estatuto taxonómico, e para identificar se existia alguma diversidade oculta. Construímos uma árvore filogenética baseada em três genes mitocondriais (16S, cytb, ND4) e um gene nuclear (cmos), incluindo os primeiros dados de sequências genéticas para o género Limnophis. Foram identificadas três linhagens bem suportadas, cada uma representando uma espécie distinta. Assim, validámos o estatuto taxonómico das duas espécies já conhecidas, e descrevemos uma nova espécie de Limnophis do nordeste de Angola. Esta nova espécie pode ser distinguida das outras pela combinação de padrões de coloração ventral e lateral da cabeça, e diferenças nas escamas da cabeça e escamas ventrais. As distâncias genéticas não corrigidas entre esta espécie e L. bicolor e L. bangweolicus são de 5.4–8.1% para o gene cytb, 6.1–8.4% para o ND4 e 2.7–8.3% para o 16S.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: África, morfometria geométrica, taxonomia integrativa, Serpentes, cobra-dos-pântanos
