Hierophis carbonarius

[Mario Schweiger]

has been elevated to full species

MEZZASALMA, M., A. DALL’ASTA, A. LOY, M. CHEYLAN, P. LYMBERAKIS, M.A.L. ZUFFI, L. TOMOVIC, G. ODIERNA & F.M. GUARINO (2015): A sisters’ story: comparative phylogeography and taxonomy of Hierophis viridiflavus and H. gemonensis (Serpentes, Colubridae).- Zool. Scripta; doi:10.1111/zsc.12115; 14 pp. (PDF-7725 in DB)

Abstract:
We used a multidisciplinary approach to infer the taxonomy and historical biogeography of Hierophis viridiflavus and H. gemonensis, performing molecular analyses of mitochondrial (16S, Cyt-b, ND4) and nuclear markers (PRLR), a landmark-based morphometric study and a cytogenetic analysis. Our data distinguished three main groups in the studied species, corresponding to H. gemonensis and to two monophyletic clades (E and W) within H. viridiflavus. Clades E and W display a significant genetic (about 4% for Cyt-b and ND4) and morphological divergence and a different morphology of the W sex chromosome (submetacentric in clade E and telocentric in clade W). Taking into account the existing divergence, these clades appear to represent independent phylogenetic units, deserving elevation to species status. Specific names should be H. viridiflavus (Lac
epede, 1789) and H. carbonarius (Bonaparte 1833) for clades W and E, respectively. The phylogeography of the studied species is only partially concordant with a general pattern of ‘southern richness and northern purity’ of genetic diversity, whereas H. gemonensis exhibits high genetic diversity at low latitudes (especially in the Peloponnese), H. carbonarius shows a number of different haplotypes both at low (along the southern Italian Apennines and in Sicily) and high latitudes in Italy. Furthermore, a relaxed clock model hypothesizes the differentiation between H. gemonensis and H. viridiflavus sensu lato at about 7 Mya, in the Messinian. Subsequently, the speciation involving H. viridiflavus sensu stricto and H. carbonarius took place in the Quaternary, probably as a result of Pleistocene climatic oscillations. Furthermore, our results are consistent with the existence of several ‘refugia within refugia’ in Italy and in the Balkans and depict the major cladogenesis as allopatric events, mainly driven by paleoclimatic and geographical factors.

painting of Hierophis carbonarius in Bonaparte, 1839: ICONOGRAFIA DELLA FAUNA ITALICA PER LE QUATTRO CLASSI DEGLI ANIMALI VERTEBRATI. Vol. II: AMFIBI (1835?) -- Salviucci, Roma: 269 pp.

[Peter Oefinger]

Speciation in Quaternary = 2 Mio. years... quite short? (see the tree in the paper)

[Berislav Horvatic]

Taking into account the existing divergence, these clades appear to represent independent phylogenetic units, deserving
elevation to species status. Specific names should be H. viridiflavus (Lac
epede, 1789) and H. carbonarius (Bonaparte 1833)
for clades W and E, respectively.

Thanks g/God (or the authors of the paper)! Now one can finally, lege artis, call the totally black ones simply "blackies",
(as "ordinary local people", non-biologists, have always done...) instead of "greenish-yellow blackies" - which has always
sounded quite senseless for anyone in his senses... including myself. I do like it, if only for that reason...

[Berislav Horvatic]

Well, I do feel a little bit embarrassed for presenting a totally unscientific argument like that to serious people like
you around here, but I simply couldn't resist/help it... I do apologize... But, on the other hand, almost no one has
reacted, either to the purely scientific aspect/meritum of the matter, or to my rather emotional "excess"... Does
that mean that we now actually all feel "relieved", after a quite long (and maybe quite unnecessary?) story...?
What I mean here is the "juggling" with subspecies ---> species ---> subspecies ---> species... - too many times...?!

Whichever, the "blackies" have now (hopefully finally as well!) become just the "blackies", as the "common people"
(including many fieldherpers!) actually have perceived them all allong, irrespective of... never mind, forget it...
Maybe, just maybe, the "common folks" can sometimes be right, after all. I certainly wouldn't advocate that as the
common or preferred rule/recommendation in any kind of serious science, but sometimes it can happen...

[Niklas Ban]

The only thing I thougt about is .. is there a clear distribution for cabonarius? Are there cabonarius and melanistic viridiflavus? Maybe a theme for a doctoral dissertation.

[Berislav Horvatic]

The only thing I thougt about is .. is there a clear distribution for cabonarius? Are there
cabonarius and melanistic viridiflavus? Maybe a theme for a doctoral dissertation.

Carbonarius is the totally melanistic viridiflavus, but its continuous distribution shows it not to be just an
exception among the "nominate" ones. There are no melanistic individuals among the greenis-yellow ones,
within their areal, as far as I now. (Anybody correct me, if I'm wrong.) The rest might perhaps be a subject
of a doctoral thesis, just maybe, but I doubt it.

[Berislav Horvatic]

doctoral dissertation.

Like the one on white polar bears?

Oh, thanks g/God, I somehow have the happy feeling that, this time, Micha is not after/against me... What a wonderful relief...
(Micha, forgive me, this was really meant as a joke... it's just that I don't like to (mis)use smilies to point out the obvious...)
Well, that was precisely my point - a black Hierophis carbonarius is much like a white Ursus maritimus, ... so, what the hell...

[Ruggero M.]

The only thing I thougt about is .. is there a clear distribution for cabonarius? Are there
cabonarius and melanistic viridiflavus? Maybe a theme for a doctoral dissertation.

Carbonarius is the totally melanistic viridiflavus, but its continuous distribution shows it not to be just an
exception among the "nominate" ones. There are no melanistic individuals among the greenis-yellow ones,
within their areal, as far as I now. (Anybody correct me, if I'm wrong.) The rest might perhaps be a subject
of a doctoral thesis, just maybe, but I doubt it.

Where I live (near Pavia, south to the river Po) normal viridiflavus colour is black/yellow. But sometimes you can find totally black individuals.

But the black viridiflavus you can find in southern Italy (or in north east Italy) are probably different from the black specimens you can find in the northern Apennines south of Pavia. I remember some black specimens from Vulcano (Eolie, Sicily), and the shape of their head was really different from the shape of the head of the viridiflavus from where I live, even of the totally black specimens. In particular I remember the sopraocular scale very prominent over the somehow "incavated" eye region, which gave some Vulcano specimens a "Malpolon like" look!

I must also say that on Vulcano I occasionally saw some greenish specimens...
Probably it's not an easy question, and the colour is only a part of the differences which exist among different populations...

[Niklas Ban]

So I think you don't get my questions right. Do we know exactly where the distribution of H. carbonarius ends?! There are black Hierophis on sicily are this guys are H. crabonarius or just melanistic H.viridiflavus.
I think you can't just say every black Hierophis is a cabonarius.(Sounds quite weird, because of the polarbearstory) only a DNA analyses can say this precise. There are black Hierophis on Sicily, but I don't know about totally black ones in central Italy are these snakes melanistic or cabonarius. Or do both speciem share the howl distribution area would be unlikely.

[Berislav Horvatic]

Are there cabonarius and melanistic viridiflavus?

- you mean, as something genuinely different (e.g., belonging to two different species)?

I honestly thought the answer was an obvious and simple YES, but if it isn't as simple as I've thought, I'd much rather just give up
and leave that issue to the professionals... Sorry, guys, that I've intruded this subject so wantonly - as I really have, mea culpa...
But more often than not I do recognize my limit(ation)s, and when I do, I'm ready & willing to repent. Hopefully people have noticed
that, in my favour.

However, a serious paper regarding this issue (PDF-7725 in DB) has been published, so...?

Do we know exactly where the distribution of H. carbonarius ends?!

Regarding the eastern Adriatic coast (and the islands), I can tell you where it ends (to the southeast), to the best of our knowledge,
and "gives way" to Malpolon insignitus, but that's all I can offer at the moment. Too little, I'm afraid...