Complex longitudinal diversification across South China and Vietnam in Stejneger's pit viper, Viridovipera stejnegeri (Schmidt, 1925) (Reptilia: Serpentes: Viperidae).
Viridovipera stejnegeri is one of the most common pit vipers in Asia, with a wide distribution in southern China and Vietnam. We investigated historical demography and explored how the environment and climatic factors have shaped genetic diversity and the evolutionary history of this venomous snake. A total of 171 samples from 47 localities were sequenced and analysed for two mitochondrial gene fragments and three nuclear genes. Gene trees reveal the existence of two well-supported clades (Southwest China and Southeast China) with seven distinct and strongly supported, geographically structured subclades within V. stejnegeri. Estimation of divergence time and ancestral area suggests that V. stejnegeri originated at ~6.0 Ma in the late Miocene on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The estimated date of origin and divergence of the island populations of Taiwan and Hainan closely matches the geological origin of the both islands. The mtDNA gene tree reveals the presence of west-east diversification in V. stejnegeri populations. Complex orogenesis and heterogeneous habitats, as well as climate-mediated habitat differentiation including glacial cycles, all have influenced population structure and the distribution of this taxon. The validity of V. stejnegeri chenbihuii is questionable, and this subspecies most probably represents an invalid taxon.
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, 644007, China.
Peng
P
Guo
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, 644007, China.
Qin
Q
Liu
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, 644007, China.
Fei
F
Zhu
College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, 644007, China.
Guang H
GH
Zhong
Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Xin
X
Chen
Department of Biology, The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Edward A
EA
Myers
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, and Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.|Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China.
Jing
J
Che
South China Institute of Endangered Animals, Guangzhou, 510260, China.
Liang
L
Zhang
AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Strasse 173, D-50735, Cologne, Germany.
Thomas
T
Ziegler
Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Truong Q
TQ
Nguyen
Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024-5192, USA.
Frank T
FT
Burbrink
D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D051456:Gene Flow; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D062312:Islands; D008957:Models, Genetic; D058974:Phylogeography; D014744:Vietnam; D017819:Viperidae / Q000235:genetics*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
Crotalinae; classification; genetic diversity; island; phylogeography; southeastern Asia; venomous snake