title: Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of tree boas (Corallus spp.).
abstract: Inferring the evolutionary and biogeographic history of taxa occurring in a particular region is one way to determine the processes by which the biodiversity of that region originated. Tree boas of the genus Corallus are an ancient clade and occur throughout Central and South America and the Lesser Antilles, making it an excellent group for investigating Neotropical biogeography. Using sequenced portions of two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci for individuals of all recognized species of Corallus, we infer phylogenetic relationships, present the first molecular analysis of the phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic C. cropanii, develop a time-calibrated phylogeny, and explore the biogeographic history of the genus. We found that Corallus diversified within mainland South America, via over-water dispersals to the Lesser Antilles and Central America, and via the traditionally recognized Panamanian land bridge. Divergence time estimates reject the South American Caribbean-Track as a general biogeographic model for Corallus and implicate a role for events during the Oligocene and Miocene in diversification such as marine incursions and the uplift of the Andes. Our findings also suggest that recognition of the island endemic species, C. grenadensis and C. cookii, is questionable as they are nested within the widely distributed species, C. hortulanus. Our results highlight the importance of using widespread taxa when forming and testing biogeographic hypotheses in complex regions and further illustrate the difficulty of forming broadly applicable hypotheses regarding patterns of diversification in the Neotropical region.
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA. tim@maddreptiles.com
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Colston
authors.forename: Felipe G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Grazziotin
authors.forename: Donald B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Shepard
authors.forename: Laurie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Vitt
authors.forename: Guarino R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Colli
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blair Hedges
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonatto
authors.forename: Hussam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zaher
authors.forename: Brice P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: Frank T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Burbrink
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D017821:Boidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D002489:Central America; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers