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Integrated evidence sheds light on the taxonomy of the widespread Tantilla melanocephala species complex (Serpentes: Colubridae) and indicates the existence of a new species from southern South America

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Abstract

The widespread Tantilla melanocephala is a South American snake, which has a convoluted taxonomic history and a poorly addressed systematics. The taxonomic identity and the phylogenetic affinities of their populations are unclear, suggesting the existence of a complex of undescribed species. Here, we preliminarily address the morphological diversity and genetic structure of the T. melanocephala complex through comparative morphological approaches and phylogenetic analyses using maximum likelihood. Our results confirm the presence of hidden diversity within the T. melanocephala complex and strongly indicate that the populations of T. melanocephala from southern South America represent a distinct lineage, which is morphologically diagnosable under a unique combination of character states. Therefore, we formally describe these populations as a new species and present a comparison among all other South American species of Tantilla. We also estimate the divergence times of the main clades within the complex through Bayesian analysis, suggesting a biogeographical scenario of lineage diversification. Finally, our study clarifies aspects of the intricate taxonomy of the T. melanocephala complex, providing a framework for future studies to avoid the description of synonyms.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Valdir Germano (IBSP) for his support during the analyses of morphological data and to Jaqueline Battilana (MZUSP) for her support in the molecular laboratory. We thank Sonia Cechin (ZUFSM) and Selvino Oliveira (CHUFSC) for providing information and allowing us to examine specimens under their care. Joseph Martinez (MCZ) for providing photos of the holotype of Tantilla miyatai. We also thank Erik Åhlander (NRM) and Andrea Hennyey (NRM) for providing the data and photos of type specimen NRM86 of the Coluber melanocephalus. Arthur Abegg, Conrado Rosa, Leandro Borges, and Ivo Ghizoni for their help in collecting specimens and gathering morphological data.

Funding

Weverton S. Azevedo was supported by scholarships from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP; 2022/07935–4), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES – Finance Code 001), and from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; 140052/2023–2). Felipe G. Grazziotin was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; 312016/2021–2; 405518/2021–8). This study was funded by grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP; 2016/50127–5; 2022/12660–4).

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Weverton dos Santos Azevedo

  2. Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Weverton dos Santos Azevedo, Francisco Luís Franco, Tobias Saraiva Kunz & Felipe Gobbi Grazziotin

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina, Salvador, BA, Brazil

    Lucas Menezes

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Contributions

WSA and FGG conceived and designed the research project. WSA, FLF, and FGG conducted the review of the taxonomic history of Tantilla melanocephala. WSA collected the molecular data. WSA and TSK gathered the morphological data. WSA and FGG performed the molecular and morphological analyses. WSA and LM evaluated the morphological variation of Tantilla from South America, and LM produced all the illustrations for these species. All authors provided feedback on previous versions of the manuscript, and all authors have read, edited, and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Weverton dos Santos Azevedo.

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dos Santos Azevedo, W., Franco, F.L., Menezes, L. et al. Integrated evidence sheds light on the taxonomy of the widespread Tantilla melanocephala species complex (Serpentes: Colubridae) and indicates the existence of a new species from southern South America. Org Divers Evol 24, 119–147 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-023-00636-5

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