Wüster Wolfgang, Peppin Lindsay, Pook Catharine E, Walker Daniel E
School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2008 Nov;49(2):445-59. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.08.019. Epub 2008 Sep 3.
Despite their medical interest, the phylogeny of the snake family Viperidae remains inadequately understood. Previous studies have generally focused either on the pitvipers (Crotalinae) or on the Old World vipers (Viperinae), but there has been no comprehensive molecular study of the Viperidae as a whole, leaving the affinities of key taxa unresolved. Here, we infer the phylogenetic relationships among the extant genera of the Viperidae from the sequences of four mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, NADH subunit 4, 16S and 12S rRNA). The results confirm Azemiops as the sister group of the Crotalinae, whereas Causus is nested within the Viperinae, and thus not a basal viperid or viperine. Relationships among the major clades of Viperinae remain poorly resolved despite increased sequence information compared to previous studies. Bayesian molecular dating in conjunction with dispersal-vicariance analysis suggests an early Tertiary origin in Asia for the crown group Viperidae, and rejects suggestions of a relatively recent, early to mid-Tertiary origin of the Caenophidia.
尽管蝰蛇科在医学上备受关注，但其系统发育仍未得到充分理解。以往的研究通常要么集中于蝮蛇（蝮亚科），要么集中于旧大陆蝰蛇（蝰亚科），但尚未有对整个蝰蛇科进行全面的分子研究，关键类群之间的亲缘关系仍未解决。在此，我们根据四个线粒体基因（细胞色素b、NADH亚基4、16S和12S rRNA）的序列推断现存蝰蛇科属之间的系统发育关系。结果证实白头蝰属是蝮亚科的姐妹群，而夜蝰属嵌套在蝰亚科内，因此它既不是基础蝰蛇类也不是基础蝰亚科类。尽管与以往研究相比序列信息有所增加，但蝰亚科主要分支之间的关系仍未得到很好的解决。贝叶斯分子定年结合扩散 - 隔离分析表明，蝰蛇科冠群在亚洲的起源时间为早第三纪，并否定了新蛇亚目起源于相对较近的早第三纪至中第三纪的观点。
