Phylogeography of the Central American lancehead Bothrops asper (SERPENTES: VIPERIDAE).

ABSTRACT: The uplift and final connection of the Central American land bridge is considered the major event that allowed biotic exchange between vertebrate lineages of northern and southern origin in the New World. However, given the complex tectonics that shaped Middle America, there is still substantial controversy over details of this geographical reconnection, and its role in determining biogeographic patterns in the region. Here, we examine the phylogeography of Bothrops asper, a widely distributed pitviper in Middle America and northwestern South America, in an attempt to evaluate how the final Isthmian uplift and other biogeographical boundaries in the region influenced genealogical lineage divergence in this species. We examined sequence data from two mitochondrial genes (MT-CYB and MT-ND4)

SUBMITTER: Saldarriaga-Cordoba M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5703453 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature