A comprehensive taxonomic reassessment of the Hebius optatus species complex,integrating molecular data and morphological data,has led to the recognition and description of a previously overlooked species from norther...A comprehensive taxonomic reassessment of the Hebius optatus species complex,integrating molecular data and morphological data,has led to the recognition and description of a previously overlooked species from northern Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,herein described as Hebius vogeli sp.nov.Phylogenetic analyses reveal that Hebius vogeli sp.nov.is closely related to H.sauteri and H.optatus sensu stricto.Uncorrected p-distances based on cytochrome b sequences indicate a divergence of 10.74%-11.73%between Hebius vogeli sp.nov.and H.optatus.The new species differs from H.optatus by a combination of characters,including a higher number of subcaudal scales,a greater total number of ventral and subcaudal scales,and distinct ventral coloration.Hebius vogeli sp.nov.appears to be geographically restricted to northern Vietnam and the adjacent region of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,making its distribution allopatric from that of H.optatus.The Pearl River is hypothesized to serve as a biogeographic barrier separating the two taxa.Accordingly,we recommend the exclusion of H.optatus from the herpetofauna of Vietnam.Based on IUCN Red List criteria,we propose that Hebius vogeli sp.nov.be assessed as Least Concern(LC).Our results emphasize both the underestimated diversity within Hebius and the need for continued integrative taxonomic efforts,particularly in the Vietnam-China borderlands,where cryptic diversity remains largely unexplored.展开更多
基金supported by the Rufford Foundation(Grant No.45888-2:data analysis)the Russian Science Foundation(RSF Grant No.22-14-00037-P:data analysis)+3 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32300370)International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(071GJHZ2023041MI),ChinaPostdoctoral Science Foundation(2023M743416)the 2023 award fund of Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics.
文摘A comprehensive taxonomic reassessment of the Hebius optatus species complex,integrating molecular data and morphological data,has led to the recognition and description of a previously overlooked species from northern Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,herein described as Hebius vogeli sp.nov.Phylogenetic analyses reveal that Hebius vogeli sp.nov.is closely related to H.sauteri and H.optatus sensu stricto.Uncorrected p-distances based on cytochrome b sequences indicate a divergence of 10.74%-11.73%between Hebius vogeli sp.nov.and H.optatus.The new species differs from H.optatus by a combination of characters,including a higher number of subcaudal scales,a greater total number of ventral and subcaudal scales,and distinct ventral coloration.Hebius vogeli sp.nov.appears to be geographically restricted to northern Vietnam and the adjacent region of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,making its distribution allopatric from that of H.optatus.The Pearl River is hypothesized to serve as a biogeographic barrier separating the two taxa.Accordingly,we recommend the exclusion of H.optatus from the herpetofauna of Vietnam.Based on IUCN Red List criteria,we propose that Hebius vogeli sp.nov.be assessed as Least Concern(LC).Our results emphasize both the underestimated diversity within Hebius and the need for continued integrative taxonomic efforts,particularly in the Vietnam-China borderlands,where cryptic diversity remains largely unexplored.
