Post by Ceratodromeus on Feb 22, 2017 3:43:56 GMT 5
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Lampropeltis
Species: L.getula
Subspecies
A recently published study suggested that two subspecies(L.g.floridiana, L.g.meansi) are distinct enough on the basis of Mitochondrial DNA analysis and morphometrics to be elevated to full species status{1}, whilst formally recognized subspecies have also been elevated to full species status.
Biology
Adults vary from 91.5 cm (36.0 in) (in snout-to-vent length) on average, while the nominate is the largest, at 107 cm (42 in) on average. Specimens up to 208.2 cm (82.0 in) have been recorded. Weight can vary from 285 g (10.1 oz) in a small specimen of 87.2 cm (34.3 in) in length, to 2,268 g (80.0 oz) in large specimens, of over 153 cm (60 in) in length.
This species prefers open areas, particularly grassland, but also chaparral, oak woodland, abandoned farms, desert, low mountains, sand, and any type of riparian zone, including swamps, canals and streams.
They eat other snakes, including venomous snakes. They have developed a hunting technique to avoid being bitten by clamping down on the jaws of the venomous prey, but even if bitten, they are immune to the venom. They also eat amphibians, turtle eggs, lizards, and small mammals, which they kill by constriction.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampropeltis_getula
Morphological DNA analysis show Floridian kingsnakes to be three species instead of one
New Study Reclassifies Three Types of Florida Snake
"Researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History have recently finished a study that reclassifies three types of kingsnakes found in Florida as species.
Dr. Kenneth Krysko, the collection manager of the Division of Herpetology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, conducted the study using DNA and morphology, which is the study of forms of living organisms.
“Our DNA work strongly correlated with the ranges of the former subspecies [of kingsnake], so we elevated all of them to species level,” Krysko said.
Krysko began the research on kingsnakes about a decade ago for his doctorate but recently continued the research again. He added more genes to the study to aid in research.
“I’ve been studying kingsnakes longer than anyone else has, so over 20 years now,” Krysko said.
Leroy Nuñez, an employee at the Herpetology Department of the Florida Museum of Natural History who recently graduated from the University of Florida with a master’s degree, also contributed to the kingsnake study.
“We looked at several different genes, including mitochondrial and nuclear genes,” Nuñez said.
Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula Complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America.
Distribution of kingsnakes in North America. (A) Lampropeltis californiae (banded); (B) Lampropeltis holbrooki; (C) Lampropeltis nigra; (D) Lampropeltis getula getula; (E) Lampropeltis getula “sticticeps”; (F) Lampropeltis getula floridana; (G–I) Lampropeltis getula meansi (patternless, striped, and wide-banded, respectively); (J) Lampropeltis splendida; (K) Lampropeltis getula nigrita; (L) Lampropeltis californiae (striped). (Photo courtesy of University of Florida study)
For the study, researchers used 66 total kingsnake specimens collected from around the country and from the Florida Museum of Natural History. They extracted DNA from tissue samples of the snakes and ran multiple analyses for each.
Catherine Newman, a graduate student at Louisiana State University, completed the niche modeling for the study.
“Kenny contacted me, because I knew him previously and he knew I worked on ecological niche modeling in the past, so he contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in doing it for the kingsnake project they were working on,” Newman said.
Newman’s niche modeling contribution involved taking the kingsnake specimen data, such as latitude and longitude coordinates of kingsnakes that Krysko had collected, and running it through a program with climate layers, temperature and precipitation from the year 1950 to 2000. The result of niche modeling shows where the climate is suitable for two of the kingsnake lineages and where they overlap.
The three new species of kingsnake are the Florida kingsnake or Lampropeltis floridana, the Eastern kingsnake or Lampropeltis getula and the Easter Apalachicola Lowlands kingsnake or Lampropeltis meansi.
The three kingsnake lineages were previously considered subspecies, before being elevated to species status after the study was conducted.
“For whatever reason, people don’t feel comfortable calling them species either due to lack of data that would determine them as species or for whatever reason,” Nuñez said.
According to Nuñez, the elevation of these types of kingsnakes is a great example of how rich and diverse Florida’s biology is.
“Florida is not like anywhere else in the United States or in the world, really,” Nuñez said. “And I feel that people don’t really appreciate that.”
Kingsnakes in general are considered ophiophagus, meaning they eat other snakes, which is where they got the name “kingsnake.” Although kingsnakes as a whole are fairly docile and nonvenomous, the three species differ genetically, morphologically, geographically and physically.
“The Florida kingsnake is found only in peninsular Florida, the eastern kingsnake is only found in northern Florida and the panhandle, and that ranges all the way up to southern New Jersey on the eastern seaboard, and the Apalachicola Lowlands kingsnake is only found in Apalachicola National Forest and just south of there,” Krysko said.
Krysko and the other researchers began studying the kingsnake out of interest.
“It’s just a great snake,” Krysko said. “A great group of snakes I should say.” "
www.wuft.org/news/2017/02/20/new-study-reclassifies-three-types-of-florida-snake/
{1}Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula Complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America.
Abstract
Kingsnakes of the Lampropeltis getula complex range throughout much of temperate and subtropical North America. Studies over the last century have used morphology and color pattern to describe numerous subspecies. More recently, DNA analyses have made invaluable contributions to our understanding of their evolution and taxonomy. We use genetic and ecological methods to test previous hypotheses of distinct evolutionary lineages by examining 66 total snakes and 1) analyzing phylogeographic structure using 2 mtDNA loci and 1 nuclear locus, 2) estimating divergence dates and historical demography among lineages in a Bayesian coalescent framework, and 3) applying ecological niche modeling (ENM). Our molecular data and ENMs illustrate that 3 previously recognized subspecies in the eastern United States comprise well-supported monophyletic lineages that diverged during the Pleistocene. The geographic boundaries of these 3 lineages correspond closely to known biogeographic barriers (Florida peninsula, Appalachian Mountains, and Apalachicola River) previously identified for other plants and animals, indicating shared geographic influences on evolutionary history. We conclude that genetic, ecological, and morphological data support recognition of these 3 lineages as distinct species (Lampropeltis floridana, Lampropeltis getula, and Lampropeltis meansi).
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28119446
