Cyclocorinae

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Cyclocorinae
Cyclocorus lineatus lineatus (KU 326690) from Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano - ZooKeys-266-001-g081.jpg
Cyclocorus lineatus lineatus
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Lamprophiidae
Subfamily: Cyclocorinae
Genera

The Cyclocorinae are a subfamily of lamprophiid snakes endemic to the Philippines.[1] It was erected in 2017 to house four enigmatic, endemic genera containing seven species and one undescribed lineage that are more closely related to one another than to members of the subfamilies Atractaspidinae and Aparallactinae or to other subfamilies of the Lamprophiidae. Previously placed within the Colubridae, a 2017 study by Weinell et al.[1] found strong support the monophyly of Cyclocorinae within Lamprophiidae, but its position relative to the other subfamilies of Lamprophiidae is not resolved. Cyclocorinae was found to be a possible sister group to the Atractaspidinae. Despite high support for a close relationship from DNA, no unambiguous morphological characteristics unite these four genera. A fifth genus, Levitonius, was described in 2020.[2]

The species of Cyclocorinae likely began to diverge beginning ∼35 million years ago (Mya) (CI 29–41 Mya). Because snakes of this subfamily are not known from Palawan Island, their method of dispersal from mainland Asia to the Philippine archipelago must have differed from that of most Philippine reptiles and amphibians, which are thought to have rafted over on the Palawan "Ark".[3][4][5]

The members of this subfamily are among the most poorly known snakes in the world. Very little information is available on their geographic distribution, ecology, behavior, or conservation status.[6]

Genera and species[]

The five genera, three with two species each and two with one species, and one unnamed lineage, are:

References[]

  1. ^ a b Weinell, J. L.; Brown, R. M. (2018). "Discovery of an old, archipelago-wide, endemic radiation of Philippine snakes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 119: 144–150. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.11.004. PMID 29162550.
  2. ^ a b Weinell, Jeffrey L.; Paluh, Daniel J.; Siler, Cameron D.; Brown, Rafe M. (23 December 2020). "A New, Miniaturized Genus and Species of Snake (Cyclocoridae) from the Philippines". Copeia. 108 (4): 907–923. doi:10.1643/CH2020110. ISSN 0045-8511. See also
  3. ^ Blackburn, D. C.; Bickford, D. P.; Diesmos, A. C.; Iskandar, D. T.; Brown, R. M. (2010). "An ancient origin for the enigmatic Flat-headed Frogs (Bombinatoridae: Barbourula) from the islands of Southeast Asia". PLOS ONE. 5 (8): e12090–10. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...512090B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012090. PMC 2918512. PMID 20711504.
  4. ^ Brown, R. M.; Su, Y. C.; Barger, B.; Siler, C. D.; Sanguila, M. B.; Diesmos, A. C.; Blackburn, D. C. (2016). "Phylogeny of the island archipelago frog genus Sanguirana: another endemic Philippine radiation that diversified 'Out-of-Palawan'" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 94 (Pt B): 531–536. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.010. PMID 26477738.
  5. ^ Siler, C. D.; Oaks, J. R.; Welton, L. J.; Linkem, C. W.; Swab, J. C.; Diesmos, A. C.; Brown, R. M. (2012). "Did geckos ride the Palawan raft to the Philippines?" (PDF). Journal of Biogeography. 39 (7): 1217–1234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02680.x.
  6. ^ Leviton, A. E.; Siler, C. D.; Weinell, J. L.; Brown, R. M. (2018). "Synopsis of the snakes of the Philippines: a synthesis of data from biodiversity repositories, field studies, and the literature". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 64: 399–468.
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