title: Molecular phylogeny of Caribbean dipsadid (Xenodontinae: Alsophiini) snakes, including identification of the first record from the Cay Sal Bank, The Bahamas.
abstract: We document the first specimen of a dipsadid snake from the Anguilla Cays, Cay Sal Bank, The Bahamas. We analyze 3,426 base pairs (bp) of sequence data derived from five mitochondrial loci and one nuclear locus using Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods. Our molecular data agree with some aspects of morphology (e.g., scale counts, dentition, and color pattern) supporting identification of this specimen as the Cuban Racer, Cubophis cantherigerus cantherigerus (Bibron 1840), a species previously regarded as endemic to Cuba. This discovery provides another example of the strong Cuban affinities of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Bahamian islands.
authors.affiliation: Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611; Email: kenneyk@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Krysko
authors.affiliation: Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Steadman
authors.affiliation: Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Leroy P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Nuñez
authors.affiliation: The Tortoise Reserve, P.O. Box 7082 White Lake, North Carolina 28337; deceased 19 July 2014; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D001444:Bahamas; D049628:Body Size; D017812:Colubridae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009929:Organ Size; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial