Serpent Research: Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes in the Lampropeltis getula Complex, in Eastern North America

Distribution of kingsnakes in the Lampropeltis getula complex in North America:

(A) Lampropeltis californiae (banded); (B) Lampropeltis holbrooki;

“sticticeps”; (F) Lampropeltis getula floridana; (G–I) Lampropeltis getula

meansi (patternless, striped, and wide-banded, respectively); (J) Lampropeltis

splendida; (K) Lampropeltis getula nigrita; (L) Lampropeltis californiae

(striped). Distributions are modified after Conant and Collins (1998),

Krysko (2001), Stebbins (2003), Krysko and Judd (2006), and

Pyron and Burbrink (2009a, 2009b).

Kingsnakes of the Lampropeltis getula complex range throughout much of temperate and subtropical North America; along the Pacific coast from Oregon southward to the Mexican Plateau, and eastward to New Jersey and southward to Florida. Kingsnakes of this species complex are extremely variable in color pattern, and therefore, along with their mostly docile disposition, are easily recognizable and very popular in the pet trade.The distinct morphology and color patterns found in the Lampropeltis getula complex, along with its transcontinental geographic distribution and occasional disjunct populations across the North American

Distribution and locations of samples sequenced for kingsnakes

of the Lampropeltis getula complex in eastern North America: yellow

dots = Lampropeltis getula floridana from Florida peninsula; blue dots =

Lampropeltis getula getula from the Atlantic coast; red dots = Lampropeltis

getula meansi from the Eastern Apalachicola Lowlands in the Florida

panhandle; gray dots = morphological intermediates between L. g. floridana

and L. g. getula; and coral dots = morphological intermediates between

L. g. getula and L. g. meansi. Green and pink polygons refer to Lampropeltis

nigra and Lampropeltis holbrooki, respectively, on the western side of the

Appalachian Mountains. Distributions are modified after Conant and

Collins (1998), Krysko (2001) using multi-locus phylogeny,

and Krysko and Judd (2006) using morphology.

landscape make a fascinating subject for phylogeography. In a new paper Krysto et al (2017) expanded the sample from the getula complex and add a nuclear DNA locus to the molecular data set used previously to hypotheses distinct genetic lineages. They use genetic and ecological methods to test previous hypotheses of distinct evolutionary lineages by examining 66 total snakes for: analyzing phylogeographic structure using 2 mtDNA loci and 1 nuclear locus; estimating divergence dates and historical demography among lineages in a Bayesian coalescent framework, and; applied ecological niche modeling (ENM). The molecular data and ENMs illustrate that three previously recognized subspecies in the eastern United States comprise well-supported monophyletic lineages that diverged during the Pleistocene. The geographic boundaries of these three lineages correspond closely to known biogeographic barriers (Florida peninsula, Appalachian Mountains, and Apalachicola River) previously identified for other plants and animals, indicating shared geographic influences on evolutionary history. Them authors conclude that genetic, ecological, and morphological data support recognition of these 3 lineages as distinct species (Lampropeltis floridana, Lampropeltis getula, and Lampropeltis meansi).

Citation
Krysko KL, Nuñez LP, Newman CE, Bowen BW. Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula Complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America. The Journal of heredity. 2017 Jan 24.