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Systermatics and biogeography of the genus Platyceps with special emphasis on the Middle Eastern species
Velenská, Doubravka ; Šmíd, Jiří (advisor) ; Rehák, Ivan (referee)
The colubrids genus Platyceps has been included in several phylogenetic studies of the family Colubridae, however the phylogenetic relationships between its species still remain unresolved. The major problem is an insufficient coverage of species in genetic analyses. In this study, I analyse 90 specimens of fourteen Platyceps species to shed more light on the evolutionary history of the genus. Some of the species have never been included in such a genetic analysis before. The phylogeny is based on a combination of four mitochondrial (12S rRNA, cytb, COI, ND4) and two nuclear (cmos, NT3) markers. My results confirm the genus as monophyletic and divide it in to three major clades - the Indian clade (P. bholanathi, P. gracilis, P. ladacensis, P. ventromaculatus a P. sp_central_asia), the West Asian clade (P. karelini, P. rogersi, P. saharicus a P. rhodorachis) and the Dispersive clade (P. plinii, P. josephi, P. florulentus, P. taylori, P. najadum, P. collaris, P. elegantissimus, P. manseri, P. sinai, P. variabilis). According to the results, the phylogenetic positions of several species differ considerably compared to previously published studies. The species Platyceps thomasi appears to be just a colour morph variation of Platyceps variabilis. Platyceps variabilis manseri, on the other hand, emerges...
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