The phylogenetic position of Thermophis (Serpentes: Colubridae), an endemic snake from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China.

The snakes of the genus Thermophis, including two species (Thermophis baileyi and Thermophis zhaoermii), which are found only on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, were studied to determine the phylogenetic position of the genus within the broad superfamily Colubroidea. In this study, T. baileyi from two different localities in Xizang and T. zhaoermii from western Sichuan formed a monophyletic group as determined using Bayesian and likelihood methods of phylogenetic inference. Based on the nucleotide sequence of the cyt b and c-mos genes, Thermophis appeared to be a member of the subfamily Xenodontinae, which prior to this finding had been confined to a New World distribution. The molecular data also indicate a large genetic distance between T. baileyi and T. zhaoermii, which strengthens the validity of the new species: T. zhaoermii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]