Posted by:
ratsnakehaven
at Wed Aug 3 09:29:54 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by ratsnakehaven ]
Thanks for the update, Eric; but just because CNAH recognizes a research paper doesn't mean everyone does. DNA findings aren't automatically accepted by all groups interested in taxonomy. Other things are taken into consideration also. I saw five western fox snakes in the Upper Peninsula of MI this year and have seen many eastern fox snakes in southeastern MI, Ohio, and Ontario. They are not the same snake, which was the purpose of spitting Pantherophis (Elaphe) vulpinus in the first place.
Regards....Terry Cox/Green Valley, AZ
>>Abstract: As currently understood, there are two species of Fox Snakes (Eastern Fox Snake, Pantherophis gloydi Conant and Western Fox Snake, P. vulpinus Baird and Girard) that are separated by a large geographic disjunction that encompasses almost all of Michigan, eastern Indiana, and eastern Ohio. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA data of individuals from throughout the ranges of the two species inferred reciprocally monophyletic clades that revealed a new species boundary, the Mississippi River. The single key morphological character also shows a major difference at the river. Because the localities of the holotypes of P. gloydi and P. vulpinus are both within the new range of the eastern form, gloydi is recognized as a junior synonym of vulpinus and a new name, P. ramspotti, is erected for the western form. The estimates of divergence time and historical biogeography suggest that Pleistocene glaciation and the Mississippi River played a key role in speciation.
>>
>>www.cnah.org/research.asp?id=112
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RE: Fox snakes Revised - ratsnakehaven, Wed Aug 3 09:29:54 2011