Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Gloydius (Squamata, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with description of two new alpine species from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Jing-Song Shi; Jin-Cheng Liu; Rohit Giri; John Benjamin Owens; Vishal Santra; Sourish Kuttalam; Melvin Selvan; Ke-Ji Guo; Anita Malhotra

doi:10.3897/zookeys.1061.70420

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Gloydius (Squamata, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with description of two new alpine species from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Zookeys. 2021 Oct 4:1061:87-108. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1061.70420. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jing-Song Shi^{1

2}, Jin-Cheng Liu², Rohit Giri³, John Benjamin Owens^{4

5}, Vishal Santra^{5

6}, Sourish Kuttalam^{5

6}, Melvin Selvan⁷, Ke-Ji Guo⁸, Anita Malhotra⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
² Institute of Herpetology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, China.
³ Department of Zoology, Prithvi Narayan Campus, Bhimkalipatan-1, Pokhara 33700, Nepal.
⁴ Molecular Ecology and Evolution at Bangor, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK.
⁵ Captive and Field Herpetology, Wales, UK.
⁶ Society for Nature Conservation, Research and Community Engagement (CONCERN), Nalikul, Hooghly, West Bengal, India.
⁷ Endangered Wildlife Trust, Dindigull, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁸ Central South Inventory and Planning Institute of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Life Sciences and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410004, China.

Abstract

We provide a molecular phylogeny of Asian pit vipers (the genus Gloydius) based on four mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, ND4, and cytb). Sequences of Gloydiushimalayanus, the only member of the genus that occurs south of the Himalayan range, are included for the first time. In addition, two new species of the genus Gloydius are described based on specimens collected from Zayu, Tibet, west of the Nujiang River and Heishui, Sichuan, east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The new species, Gloydiuslipipengi sp. nov., can be differentiated from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: the third supralabial not reaching the orbit (separated from it by a suborbital scale); wide, black-bordered greyish postorbital stripe extending from the posterior margin of the orbit (not separated by the postoculars, covering most of the anterior temporal scale) to the ventral surface of the neck; irregular black annular crossbands on the mid-body; 23-21-15 dorsal scales; 165 ventral scales, and 46 subcaudal scales. Gloydiusswild sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the narrower postorbital stripe (only half the width of the anterior temporal scale, the lower edge is approximately straight and bordered with white); a pair of arched stripes on the occiput; lateral body lakes black spots; a pair of round spots on the parietal scales; 21 rows of mid-body dorsal scales; zigzag dark brown stripes on the dorsum; 168-170 ventral scales, and 43-46 subcaudal scales. The molecular phylogeny in this study supports the sister relationship between G.lipipengi sp. nov. and G.rubromaculatus, another recently described species from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, more than 500 km away, and indicate the basal position of G.himalayanus within the genus and relatively distant relationship to its congeners.

Keywords: Asian pit viper; Gloydiushimalayanus; Heishui; Qinghai-Tibet plateau; Zayu; molecular phylogeny; osteology.

Jing-Song Shi, Jin-Cheng Liu, Rohit Giri, John Benjamin Owens, Vishal Santra, Sourish Kuttalam, Melvin Selvan, Ke-Ji Guo, Anita Malhotra.