RESUMO
The Coastal Plain of the southeastern U. S. is one of the planet's top biodiversity hotspots and yet many taxa have not been adequately studied. The plethodontid salamander, Desmognathus auriculatus, was originally thought to occur from east Texas to Virginia, a range spanning dozens of interfluves and large river systems. Beamer and Lamb (2008) found five independent mitochondrial lineages of what has been called D. auriculatus in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but did not examine the extensive distribution of D. auriculatus in the Gulf Coastal Plain. We present morphological and molecular genetic data distinguishing two evolutionarily independent and distantly related lineages that are currently subsumed under the taxon D. auriculatus in the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. We describe one of these as a new species, Desmognathus valentinei sp. nov., and assign the second one to D. auriculatus which we formally redescribe.
Assuntos
Urodelos , Animais , Filogenia , Texas , Estados Unidos , VirginiaAssuntos
Altitude , Anuros/genética , Variação Genética , Animais , Fluxo Gênico , Modelos Lineares , Lagartos/genética , América do SulRESUMO
The author describes his experience following 2 bites to his hand by the same green palmsnake (Philodryas viridissimus) on the same day, and reviews the literature on bites from rear-fanged species of the genus Philodryas. Though this genus has long been thought to include the most venomous colubrid snakes in the Americas, the author's bites were relatively asymptomatic. Fatalities caused by Philodryas seem to be lacking in the primary literature, but mild to moderate symptoms do result from envenomations by at least 2 species. Medical researchers are urged to obtain accurate species identifications and to carefully report symptoms and fatalities from bites of colubrid snakes.
