Phylogenetic relationships of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) inferred from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences

Wilkinson, M., Sheps, J.A., Oommen, O.V. and Cohen, B.L. (2002) Phylogenetic relationships of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) inferred from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 23(3), pp. 401-407. (doi: 10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00031-3) (PMID:12099794)

Abstract

India has a diverse caecilian fauna, including representatives of three of the six currently recognized families, the Caeciliidae, Ichthyophiidae, the endemic Uraeotyphlidae, but previous molecular phylogenetic studies of caecilians have not included sequences for any Indian caecilians. Partial 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were obtained for a single representative of each of the caecilian families found in India and aligned against previously reported sequences for 13 caecilian species. The resulting alignment (16 taxa, 1200 sites, of which 288 cannot be aligned unambiguously) was analyzed using parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and distance methods. As judged by bootstrap proportions, decay indices, and leaf stabilities, well-supported relationships of the Indian caecilians are recovered from the alignment. The data (1) corroborate the hypothesis, based on morphology, that the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae are sister taxa, (2) recover a monophyletic Ichthyophiidae, including Indian and South East Asian representatives, and (3) place the Indian caeciliid Gegeneophis ramaswamii as the sister group of the caeciliid caecilians of the Seychelles. Rough estimates of divergence times suggest an origin of the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae while India was isolated from Laurasia and Africa and are most consistent with an Indian origin of these families and subsequent dispersal of ichthyophiids into South East Asia.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cohen, Dr Bernard
• Authors: Wilkinson, M., Sheps, J.A., Oommen, O.V., and Cohen, B.L.
• Subjects: Q Science > QL Zoology; Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• ISSN: 1055-7903
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science
• First Published: First published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23(3):401-407
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
9511	1	Morphological and molecular systematics of caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)	Mark Wilkinson	Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)	GST/02/832	SCHOOL OF LIFE SCIENCES