Taxonomic revision of the genus Xenopholis Peters, 1869 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae): Integrating morphology with ecological niche.

ABSTRACT: A reliable identification and delimitation of species is an essential pre-requisite for many fields of science and conservation. The Neotropical herpetofauna is the world's most diverse, including many taxa of uncertain or debated taxonomy. Here we tackle one such species complex, by evaluating the taxonomic status of species currently allocated in the snake genus Xenopholis (X. scalaris, X. undulatus, and X. werdingorum). We base our conclusions on concordance between quantitative (meristic and morphometric) and qualitative (color pattern, hemipenes and skull features) analyses of morphological characters, in combination with ecological niche modeling. We recognize all three taxa as valid species and improve their respective diagnosis, including new data on color in life, pholidosis, bony

SUBMITTER: Gomes DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7732082 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature