title: When continents collide: phylogeny, historical biogeography and systematics of the medically important viper genus Echis (Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae).
abstract: We analyze the phylogeny of the medically important and taxonomically unresolved viper genus Echis using four mitochondrial gene fragments. The results show that the populations of the genus fall into four main clades: the Echis carinatus, E. coloratus, E. ocellatus and E. pyramidum groups. The E. pyramidum and E. coloratus groups are sister taxa but the interrelationships of this clade and the E. ocellatus and E. carinatus groups are unresolved. The initial divergence of the genus appears to coincide with the collision between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia, and that between the E. coloratus and E. pyramidum clades appears to be associated with the opening of the Red Sea. Later land connections between Africa and Arabia may have contributed to shaping the distribution of the E. pyramidum complex. The present distribution of E. carinatus may be the result of range expansion from southern India. Taxonomically, our results provide molecular evidence for the validity of Echis omanensis, E. khosatzkii, E. borkini and E. jogeri, for the presence of unsuspected genetic diversity within the E. pyramidum complex in eastern Africa, and for the conspecificity of E. carinatus and E. multisquamatus. The status of E. leucogaster remains to be confirmed.
authors: Bangor University, School of Biological Sciences, Environment Centre Wales, Brambell Building, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK.
authors: Catharine E
authors: CE
authors: Pook
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Joger
authors: Nikolaus
authors: N
authors: Stümpel
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Wüster
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial; D005843:Geography; D008390:Markov Chains; D008877:Middle East; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017819:Viperidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial