| Research Abstract |
I conducted the phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequence data for 17 species of the genus Tropidophorus from Indochina, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Philippines. I showed that the genus Tropidophorus is not a monophyletic group, but recongized two monophyletic clades in Sphenomorphus group. One is confined to Indochina region, and the other is distributed in Indochina, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Philippines. The latter clade is divided three subclades, the first one in Indochina, the second in northern Philippines and Sulawesi, and the third in Borneo and Mindanao. I revised the taxonomy of the genus Tropidophorus sensu lato, based on the phylogenetic relationship. First I recognized two genus, the first clade as genus Aspris and the second clade as Tropidophorus sensu stricto. Moreover, I proposed the three subgenus, Tropidophorus, Norbea, and Enoplosaurus. The phylogeographic pattern suggested that the subgenus Norbea entered into Mindanao from Borneo, and that the subgenus Enoplosaurus was extirlpated in Mindanao, where might have previously distributed in the whole region of the Philippines and Sulawesi. On the other hand, in order to revise the species taxonomy of the genus Thopidophorus, I examined the series of specimens, including type specimens in American and Chinese museums and institutes. After the examination of these collections, I also found several important taxonomic characters, as postanal pores, a single small scale row inserted in mid-dorsal scales, and postanal wide subcaudal. I solved several taxonomic problems using these morphological characters. For example, I resurrected T.stejnegeri and T.yunnanensis, which have been synonymized as T.misaminius and T.berdmorei, respectively.
|
