Calabaria and the phylogeny of erycine snakes

Abstract

Two major subgroups of erycine snakes, designated Charina and Eryx, are delimited with a cladistic analysis of 75 morphological characters. The hypotheses of species relationships within the two clades are (reinhardtii (bottae, trivirgata)) and (colubrinus, conicus, elegans, jayakari, muelleri, somalicus (miliaris (tataricus (jaculus, johnii)))), respectively. This pattern of grouping obtains without assuming multistate character additivity. At least 16 synapomorphies indicate that reinhardtii is an crycine and that it is the sister lineage of the (bottae, trivirgata) clade. Calabaria and Lichanura are synonymized with Charina for reasons of taxonomic efficiency, and to emphasize the New-Old World geographic distribution of the three species in that assemblage. Further resolution of Eryx species relationships is required before Gongylophis (type species conicus) can be recognized.