Phylogenetic position of Iranian pitvipers (Viperidae, Crotalinae, <i>Gloydius</i>) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome <i>b</i> sequences

Abstract

A data-set representing 10 of the 14 species of pitvipers in the genus Gloydius was assembled based on the NCBI database to explore the phylogenetic relationships within the genus, with an emphasis on Iranian populations. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was sequenced for 16 specimens of Iranian pitvipers from five locations, and the sequences were added to a final data-set comprising 65 specimens. The Iranian populations belong to a clade containing G. intermedius, G. halys, G. saxatilis, and G. shedaoensis with unresolved within-clade relationships. The Iranian pitvipers clustered with G. halys from Kazakhstan, but more definite taxonomic conclusions on the Iranian populations will require the resolution of species limits among G. intermedius, G. halys, G. shedaoensis, and G. saxatilis. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BA396891-654E-47C4-B9F0-5DD77985BFB7

Keywords

• Crotalinae
• Gloydius
• Iran
• mitochondrial cytb
• phylogeny
• taxonomy