- 2564 E Murdoch Ct., Green Valley, AZ 85614
- 520/300-5770
John C. Murphy
Field Museum, Collections and Research, Department Member
- After retiring from a career teaching biology and anatomy & physiology, and science administration, I study reptiles... moreAfter retiring from a career teaching biology and anatomy & physiology, and science administration, I study reptiles and amphibians (but focus mostly on squamates). My current interest are in snake phylogeny and diversity, highly aquatic snakes (that are non-sea snakes), the herpetofauna of Trinidad and Tobago, and giant snakes. I have been on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Herpetological Society (positions held include president and publication secretary 1975-1987), the Board of Directors of the Tucson Herpetological Society (2018 -2020). From 1987 to 2021 I was a research associate at the Field Museum in Chicago. Currently I am a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Snake Specialists Group and I am on the board of directors of Friends of Madera Canyon and the International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology (ISHBH).edit
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Gaspar Grande is a small satellite island about 133 hectares in area and 975 m off the north-western peninsula of Trinidad. The island is covered by tropical deciduous seasonal forest and fringed by many holiday homes and guest houses.... more
Gaspar Grande is a small satellite island about 133 hectares in area and 975 m off the north-western peninsula of Trinidad. The island is covered by tropical deciduous seasonal forest and fringed by many holiday homes and guest houses. Our 2011 observation of Didelphis marsupialis , coupled with a previous report of ‘manicous on the island’ by a long time owner of a Gaspar Grande holiday home (SPC 2007, pers. obs.), suggest that a population of these opossums is resident on the island. However, we were unable to discover any published records of wild native non-volant mammals on Gaspar Grande.
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Amphibians and reptiles are among the most threatened vertebrate taxa. Protected areas represent a conservation management tool to preserve species and the Aripo Savannas Scientific Reserve in Trinidad is one example. The aim of our study... more
Amphibians and reptiles are among the most threatened vertebrate taxa. Protected areas represent a conservation management tool to preserve species and the Aripo Savannas Scientific Reserve in Trinidad is one example. The aim of our study was to update the species richness of amphibians and reptiles of the Aripo Savannas Scientific Reserve. Nine amphibian species and twenty-eight reptile species have previously been reported at Aripo Savannas. Our surveys detected 19 amphibian species (10 previously unrecorded) and 40 reptile species (12 previously unrecorded) in the re- serve. The amended checklist of 19 amphibians and 40 reptiles may provide opportunities for more effective conservation management measures for these species within the reserve.
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The Kerala mud snake, Enhydris dussumierii Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, has long been known only from syntypes collected in the nineteenth century, but more recent specimens have provided the opportunity for molecular work. Using... more
The Kerala mud snake, Enhydris dussumierii Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, has long been known only from syntypes collected in the nineteenth century, but more recent specimens have provided the opportunity for molecular work. Using Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of 2200 base pairs of cytb, 16S, and c-mos, we recovered the Kerala mud snake as the sister species to the Chinese mud snake, Enhydris chinensis (Chinese–Vietnamese endemic). The DNA results establish the position of dussumierii and chinensis as separate from the Enhydris clade, and together they form the sister group to most of the other fanged homalopsids ((Bitia+Cantoria) + (Erpeton+Gerarda+Fordonia) + (Myron+Pseudoferania) + (Enhydris punctata) + (Homalopsis+Enhydris bocourti) + (Cerberus)). Here we resurrect Ferania Gray for Enhydris sieboldii Gray, establish a new genus for the E. chinensis clade (bennettii+chinensis), and apply the generic replacement name Dieurostus Berg to E. dussumierii Duméril, Bibron & Duméril. A biogeographic scenario is proposed based on the ecology, distribution and salt tolerance of the species composing a hypothesized (not supported with molecular evidence) Asian coastal lineage that is distributed from Pakistan's Indus River delta to temperate coastal China.
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Two mabuyid skinks are present in Trinidad and Tobago, the Greater Windward Skink, Copeoglossum aurae Hedges and Conn and the Lesser Windward Skink, Marisora aurulae Hedges and Conn. Both lizards have a similar distribution in the... more
Two mabuyid skinks are present in Trinidad and Tobago, the Greater Windward Skink, Copeoglossum aurae Hedges and Conn and the Lesser Windward Skink, Marisora aurulae Hedges and Conn. Both lizards have a similar distribution in the southern Windward Islands, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Peninsula de Paria of Venezuela, with a great deal of sympatry throughout the range.
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The Rio Claro-Mayaro area of southeast Trinidad contains a variety of lowland habitats. Because access to much of the area is restricted, its herpetofauna has been poorly explored, resulting in few publications on its herpetofauna.... more
The Rio Claro-Mayaro area of southeast Trinidad contains a variety of lowland habitats. Because access to much of the area is restricted, its herpetofauna has been poorly explored, resulting in few publications on its herpetofauna. Reported here are results of fieldwork conducted in the Rio Claro-Mayaro area between November 2009 and April 2014. Documented here is the presence in southeast Trinidad of 77 of the 106 known (excluding questionable) species that inhabit the island. Included are records from published literature, our own fieldwork, and museum specimens.
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Coralsnakes of the genus Micrurus are a diverse group of venomous snakes ranging from the southern United States to southern South America. Much uncertainty remains over the genus diversity, and understanding Micrurus systematics is of... more
Coralsnakes of the genus Micrurus are a diverse group of venomous snakes ranging from the southern United States to southern South America. Much uncertainty remains over the genus diversity, and understanding Micrurus systematics is of medical importance. In particular, the widespread Micrurus nigrocinctus spans from Mexico throughout Central America and into Colombia, with a number of described subspecies. This study provides new insights into the phylogenetic relationships within M. nigrocinctus by examining sequence data from a broad sampling of specimens from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The recovered phylogenetic relationships suggest that M. nigrocinctus is a species complex originating in the Pliocene and composed of at least three distinct species-level lineages. In addition, recovery of highly divergent clades supports the elevation of some currently recognized subspecies to the full species rank while others may require synonymization.
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Natural history museum collections hold extremely rare, extinct species often described from a single known specimen. On occasions, rediscoveries open new opportunities to understand selective forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent... more
Natural history museum collections hold extremely rare, extinct species often described from a single known specimen. On occasions, rediscoveries open new opportunities to understand selective forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent rediscovery of few individuals of Bocourt´s Terrific Skink Phoboscincus bocourti, from a small and remote islet in New Caledonia allowed to genetically identify a species of land crab in its diet. To explore this further, we CT- and MRI-scanned the head of the holotype, the only preserved specimen dated to about 1870, segmented the adductor muscles of the jaw and bones, and estimated bite force through biomechanical models. These data were compared with those gathered for 332 specimens belonging to 44 other skink species. Thereafter we recorded the maximum force needed to generate mechanical failure of the exoskeleton of a crab specimen. The bite force is greater than the prey hardness, suggesting that predation on hard-shelled crabs may be an importa...
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The second Trinidad & Tobago Bioblitz was conducted 21-22 September 2013, in the Arima Valley, Trinidad, West Indies (W.I.). More than 100 volunteers helped observe, collect, and identify a diverse range of organisms: plants,... more
The second Trinidad & Tobago Bioblitz was conducted 21-22 September 2013, in the Arima Valley, Trinidad, West Indies (W.I.). More than 100 volunteers helped observe, collect, and identify a diverse range of organisms: plants, fungi, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, terrestrial invertebrates and freshwater organisms. A variety of surveying methods was used, including direct observation, trapping, netting and sampling. More than 150 members of the public came to watch the volunteers work, visit information stands staffed by members of various organisations, and take part in guided walks. A total of 740 species of organisms were reported after 24 hours of surveying; this total was updated to 771 after further analysis of specimens and results
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Murphy, John C., Voris, Harold K. (2005): A New Thai Enhydris (Serpentes: Colubridae: Homalopsinae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (1): 143-147, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4619021
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Trinidad and Tobago are home to three endemic species in the anuran genus Pristimantis, of which two (Pristimantis charlottevillensis and Pristimantis turpinorum) occur in Tobago alone and the third (Pristimantis urichi) is present on... more
Trinidad and Tobago are home to three endemic species in the anuran genus Pristimantis, of which two (Pristimantis charlottevillensis and Pristimantis turpinorum) occur in Tobago alone and the third (Pristimantis urichi) is present on both islands. Earlier, the IUCN assessed the conservation status of these species as: P. urichi, Endangered (EN); P. charlottevillensis, Least Concern (LC); P. turpinorum, Vulnerable (VU). However, these assessments were based on very little field‐based evidence. Here, we present survey results which contributed to reassessments as LC, VU and Data Deficient for these three species, respectively. Despite the close proximity of Trinidad to northern Venezuela, the islands do not share any Pristimantis species with the mainland, which holds a rich endemicity of Pristimantis regionally. In this study, we used genetic sequencing from several island populations and compared them to northern Venezuelan endemics to assess genetic divergence for the first time. ...
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A toad in the Rhinella granulosa group has been recognized as present on Trinidad since 1933. In 1965, the Trinidadian population was described as a subspecies of Bufo granulosus, B. g. beebei. It has its type locality on the island and... more
A toad in the Rhinella granulosa group has been recognized as present on Trinidad since 1933. In 1965, the Trinidadian population was described as a subspecies of Bufo granulosus, B. g. beebei. It has its type locality on the island and was eventually raised to species status as B. beebei (Beebe’s toad). Recently Beebe’s toad was synonymized with Rhinella humboldti, a species with a type locality in the Magdalena Valley of western Colombia. The Magdalena Valley is separated from the Orinoco Basin by the Eastern and Merida Cordilleras. These ranges have peaks that exceed 5,000 m and an almost continuous altitude at about 3,000 m. Here we examine the morphology, advertisement calls, and mtDNA from several populations of these lowland toads to test whether the western Colombian R. humboldti and the Orinoco-Trinidad R. beebei are conspecific and form a single taxon that occurs on both sides of the Andes. The morphological, molecular, and advertisement call analyses suggest that R. humbo...
Research Interests: Geography, Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity, Panama, and 5 moreCrab Biology and Taxonomy, Subspecies, Type Locality, Toad, and Taxon
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The Brown Vine Snake,Oxybelis aeneus, was until recently considered a single species, distributed from southern Arizona through the Neotropics into southeastern Brazil. However, newly conducted research restructured the species with a... more
The Brown Vine Snake,Oxybelis aeneus, was until recently considered a single species, distributed from southern Arizona through the Neotropics into southeastern Brazil. However, newly conducted research restructured the species with a substantial taxonomic revision, recognizing five additional taxa (i.e.O. koehleri,O. microphthalmus,O. potosiensis,O. rutherfordi,O. vittatus) in this species complex. This revision focused on populations in North America, Central America, and northern South America while neglecting the southern portion of its distribution. Here, we examine the taxonomic history of the complex and use it along with specimen data to resurrectO. acuminatusfrom southeastern Brazil. Finally, we describe a new species from the Peruvian Amazon based on morphological characters. This work increases the species diversity of theO. aeneuscomplex to eight, and we expect further increases in biodiversity discoveries with continued exploration of the New World vine snakes.
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We examine, for the first time, biogeographic patterns in a series of tropical montane coastal systems in northern South America. We use amphibians and reptiles, which constitute the most critical communities based upon the prevalence of... more
We examine, for the first time, biogeographic patterns in a series of tropical montane coastal systems in northern South America. We use amphibians and reptiles, which constitute the most critical communities based upon the prevalence of endemic taxa, to assess the region’s biodiversity. The montane coastal system spans an east-west distance of 925 km. It includes peaks ranging from 549 m to 2765 m above sea level and encompasses the montane complexes of northern Venezuela (including Isla de Margarita), an outlier at Santa Marta (Colombia), and ranges on the islands Trinidad and Tobago. The area supports 14 family level amphibian clades and 23 family level reptile clades. Fieldwork, museum specimen surveys, and a literature review suggest that biodiversity decreases at higher elevations. Here we examine the biogeographic patterns in the region to assess the role of the montane systems as possible refugia. We also look at the possible island and sky island effects using data from alt...
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Tobago is a small island on the southeast edge of the Caribbean Plate with a continental flora and fauna. Using DNA sequences from Genbank, new sequences, and morphological data from the... more
Tobago is a small island on the southeast edge of the Caribbean Plate with a continental flora and fauna. Using DNA sequences from Genbank, new sequences, and morphological data from the snakesErythrolamprusepinephalus,E.melanotus,E.reginae, andE.zweifeli, the species status of specimens of a Tobago snake previously considered to beErythrolamprusreginaewas assessed.Erythrolampruszweifeli, long considered a subspecies ofE.reginae, was found to be a northern Venezuela-Trinidad endemic and the sister toE.reginae. The trans-Andean speciesE.epinephalusis shown to be non-monophyletic while the Costa Rican lineage ofE.epinephalusis weakly supported as the sister to the Tobago population. The TobagoErythrolamprusis described as a distinct taxon based upon five specimens from four localities in lower montane rainforest. Much of the new species range includes the Main Ridge Forest Reserve of Tobago, the oldest protected forest in the Western Hemisphere. All known locations fall within a 400-h...
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Masked water snakes of the genus Homalopsis are abundant in the wetlands of Southeastern Asia. Currently, two speciesare recognized, the widespread H. buccata Linnaeus and the Mekong drainage endemic H. nigroventralis Deuve. On thebasis... more
Masked water snakes of the genus Homalopsis are abundant in the wetlands of Southeastern Asia. Currently, two speciesare recognized, the widespread H. buccata Linnaeus and the Mekong drainage endemic H. nigroventralis Deuve. On thebasis of morphology we resurrect H. hardwickii Gray and H. semizonata Blyth and describe a new species from Indochina.We establish a neotype for Coluber buccatus Linnaeus and examine the status of other names associated with this species.Homalopsis species can be distinguished from each other on the basis of dorsal scale row counts, the scales in the ocularring, and other head scale architecture. The new species, Homalopsis mereljcoxi, is distinguished from all others by itsone postocular and one postsubocular scale, and a higher dorsal scale row count (40–47 scale rows at midbody) that arereduced to more than 30 scale rows at the body’s posterior. The new species is heavily exploited for the skin trade at TonleSap, Cambodia. Homalopsis likely contains oth...
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Previous molecular phylogenetic hypotheses for the Homalopsidae, the Oriental-Australian Rear-fanged Water Snakes indicate that Enhydris, the most speciose genus in the Homalopsidae (22 of 37 species), is polyphyletic and may consist of... more
Previous molecular phylogenetic hypotheses for the Homalopsidae, the Oriental-Australian Rear-fanged Water Snakes indicate that Enhydris, the most speciose genus in the Homalopsidae (22 of 37 species), is polyphyletic and may consist of five separate lineages. We expand on earlier phylogenetic hypotheses using three mitochondrial fragments and one nuclear gene, previously shown to be rapidly evolving in snakes, to determine relationships among six closely related species: Enhydris enhydris, E. subtaeniata, E. chinensis, E. innominata, E. jagorii, and E. longicauda. Four of these species (E. subtaeniata, E. innominata, E. jagorii, and E. longicauda) are restricted to river basins in Indochina, while E. chinensis is found in southern China and E. enhydris is widely distributed from India across Southeast Asia. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that these species are monophyletic and we recognize this clade as the Enhydris clade sensu stricto for nomenclatural reasons. Our analysis sh...
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Tegus of the genera Tupinambis and Salvator are the largest Neotropical lizards and the most exploited clade of Neotropical reptiles. For three decades more than 34 million tegu skins were in trade, about 1.02 million per year. The genus... more
Tegus of the genera Tupinambis and Salvator are the largest Neotropical lizards and the most exploited clade of Neotropical reptiles. For three decades more than 34 million tegu skins were in trade, about 1.02 million per year. The genus Tupinambis is distributed in South America east of the Andes, and currently contains four recognized species, three of which are found only in Brazil. However, the type species of the genus, T. teguixin, is known from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (including the Isla de Margarita). Here we present molecular and morphological evidence that this species is genetically divergent across its range and identify four distinct clades some of which are sympatric. The occurrence of cryptic sympatric species undoubtedly exacerbated the nomenclatural problems of the past. We discuss the species supported by molecular and morphological evidence and increase the number of species in t...
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During the Cenozoic, Southeast Asia was profoundly affected by plate tectonic events, dynamic river systems, fluctuating sea levels, shifting coastlines, and climatic variation, which have influenced the ecological and evolutionary... more
During the Cenozoic, Southeast Asia was profoundly affected by plate tectonic events, dynamic river systems, fluctuating sea levels, shifting coastlines, and climatic variation, which have influenced the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of the Southeast Asian flora and fauna. We examined the role of these paleogeographic factors on shaping phylogeographic patterns focusing on a species of semiaquatic snake, Enhydris subtaeniata (Serpentes: Homalopsidae) using sequence data from three mitochondrial fragments (cytochrome b, ND4, and ATPase-2785 bp). We sampled E. subtaeniata from seven locations in three river drainage basins that encompassed most of this species' range. Genetic diversities were typically low within locations but high across locations. Moreover, each location had a unique suite of haplotypes not shared among locations, and pairwise φ(ST) values (0.713-0.998) were highly significant between all location pairs. Relationships among phylogroups were well resol...
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Murphy, John C., Voris, Harold K., Auliya, Mark (2005): A New Species Of Enhydris (Serpentes: Colubridae: Homalopsinae) From The Kapuas River System, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (2): 271-275, DOI:... more
Murphy, John C., Voris, Harold K., Auliya, Mark (2005): A New Species Of Enhydris (Serpentes: Colubridae: Homalopsinae) From The Kapuas River System, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (2): 271-275, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4619182
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form a southern extension of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the continental island of Trinidad, the more northerly Tobago formed as an older oceanic island volcanic arc. Their reptile biodiversity reflects... more
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form a southern extension of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the continental island of Trinidad, the more northerly Tobago formed as an older oceanic island volcanic arc. Their reptile biodiversity reflects colonization events from the South American mainland through land bridge connections at times of glacial maxima. Most of Tobago's herpetofauna has colonized through stepping-stone
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Natural history museum collections hold extremely rare, extinct species often described from a single known specimen. On occasions, rediscoveries open new opportunities to understand selective forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent... more
Natural history museum collections hold extremely rare, extinct species often described from a single known specimen. On occasions, rediscoveries open new opportunities to understand selective
forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent rediscovery of few individuals of Bocourt´s Terrifc Skink Phoboscincus bocourti, from a small and remote islet in New Caledonia allowed to genetically identify
a species of land crab in its diet. To explore this further, we CT- and MRI-scanned the head of the
holotype, the only preserved specimen dated to about 1870, segmented the adductor muscles of the
jaw and bones, and estimated bite force through biomechanical models. These data were compared
with those gathered for 332 specimens belonging to 44 other skink species. Thereafter we recorded
the maximum force needed to generate mechanical failure of the exoskeleton of a crab specimen. The bite force is greater than the prey hardness, suggesting that predation on hard-shelled crabs may be
an important driver of performance. The high bite force seems crucial to overcome low or seasonalvariations in resource availability in these extreme insular environments. Phoboscincus bocourti appears to be an apex predator in a remote and harsh environment and the only skink known to
predate on hard-shelled land crabs
forces acting on phenotypic traits. Recent rediscovery of few individuals of Bocourt´s Terrifc Skink Phoboscincus bocourti, from a small and remote islet in New Caledonia allowed to genetically identify
a species of land crab in its diet. To explore this further, we CT- and MRI-scanned the head of the
holotype, the only preserved specimen dated to about 1870, segmented the adductor muscles of the
jaw and bones, and estimated bite force through biomechanical models. These data were compared
with those gathered for 332 specimens belonging to 44 other skink species. Thereafter we recorded
the maximum force needed to generate mechanical failure of the exoskeleton of a crab specimen. The bite force is greater than the prey hardness, suggesting that predation on hard-shelled crabs may be
an important driver of performance. The high bite force seems crucial to overcome low or seasonalvariations in resource availability in these extreme insular environments. Phoboscincus bocourti appears to be an apex predator in a remote and harsh environment and the only skink known to
predate on hard-shelled land crabs
ABSTRACT.The Central Plain is one of the major natural regions of Thailand. It is a wide alluvial plain with little topographic relief consisting of multiple river basins. The many natural and anthropogenic wetland habitats in the region... more
ABSTRACT.The Central Plain is one of the major natural regions of Thailand. It is a wide alluvial plain with little topographic relief consisting of multiple river basins. The many natural and anthropogenic wetland habitats in the region make it an ideal habitat for many ...
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The presence of Hyalinobatrachium orientale in Tobago and in northeastern Venezuela is puzzling as this species is unknown from the island of Trinidad, an island often hypothesized to be a stepping-stone for the mainland fauna to colonize... more
The presence of Hyalinobatrachium orientale in Tobago and in northeastern Venezuela is puzzling as this species is unknown from the island of Trinidad, an island often hypothesized to be a stepping-stone for the mainland fauna to colonize Tobago. A period of extended isolation on Tobago could result in the Hyalinobatrachium population becoming distinct from the mainland H. orientale. Here, we use 12S and 16S rDNA gene fragments from nine H. orientale specimens from Tobago and the mainland to assess their relationship and taxonomy, as well as the tempo and mode of speciation. The results suggest H. orientale from Venezuela and Tobago are monophyletic and the two populations diverged about 3 million years ago. This estimate corresponds with the drier climate and lower sea levels of the Pliocene glaciation periods. We hypothesize that lower sea levels resulted in land-bridge formations connecting the mainland and Tobago, with a corridor of habitat allowing H. orientale to colonize Toba...
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The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form a southern extension of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the continental island of Trinidad, the more northerly Tobago formed as an older oceanic island volcanic arc. Their reptile biodiversity reflects... more
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form a southern extension of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the continental island of Trinidad, the more northerly Tobago formed as an older oceanic island volcanic arc. Their reptile biodiversity reflects colonization events from the South American mainland through land bridge connections at times of glacial maxima. Most of Tobago's herpetofauna has colonized through stepping-stone
During the Cenozoic, Southeast Asia was profoundly affected by plate tectonic events, dynamic river systems, fluctuating sea levels, shifting coastlines, and climatic variation, which have influenced the ecological and evolutionary... more
During the Cenozoic, Southeast Asia was profoundly affected by plate tectonic events, dynamic river systems, fluctuating sea levels, shifting coastlines, and climatic variation, which have influenced the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of the Southeast Asian flora and fauna. We examined the role of these paleogeographic factors on shaping phylogeographic patterns focusing on a species of semiaquatic snake, Enhydris subtaeniata (Serpentes: Homalopsidae) using sequence data from three mitochondrial fragments (cytochrome b, ND4, and ATPase—2785 bp). We sampled E. subtaeniata from seven locations in three river drainage basins that encompassed most of this species’ range. Genetic diversities were typically low within locations but high across locations. Moreover, each location had a unique suite of haplotypes not shared among locations, and pairwise ϕST values (0.713–0.998) were highly significant between all location pairs. Relationships among phylogroups were well resolved an...
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Mud snakes (Serpentes: Homalopsidae) are a family of 55 described, mainly aquatic, species primarily distributed throughout mainland Southeast Asia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Although they have been the focus of prior research,... more
Mud snakes (Serpentes: Homalopsidae) are a family of 55 described, mainly aquatic, species primarily distributed throughout mainland Southeast Asia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Although they have been the focus of prior research, the basic relationships amongst genera and species remain poorly known. We used a combined mitochondrial and nuclear gene dataset to infer their phylogenetic relationships, using the highest levels of taxon and geographic sampling for any homalopsid phylogeny to date (62% generic and 62% species coverage; 140 individuals). Our results recover two reciprocally monophyletic groups: the fangless Brachyorrhos and its sister clade comprised of all rear-fanged homalopsids. Most genera and interspecific relationships were monophyletic and strongly supported, but intergeneric relationships and intraspecific population structure lack support. We find evidence of both undescribed diversity as well as cases of taxonomic inflation within several species. Tree-based species delimitation approaches (mPTP) support potential new candidate species as distinct from their conspecifics and also suggest that many named taxa may not be distinct species. Divergence date estimation and lineage-through-time analyses indicate lower levels of speciation in the Eocene, with a subsequent burst in diversification in the Miocene. Homalopsids may have diversified most rapidly during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, possibly in relation to tectonic shifts and sea-level fluctuations that took place in Sundaland and the Sahul Shelf. Our analyses provide new insights on homalopsid taxonomy, a baseline phylogeny for the family, and further biogeographic implications demonstrating how dynamic tectonics and Quaternary sea level changes may have shaped a widespread, diverse family of snakes.
Tantilla is a diverse New World Colubrid genus comprising 69 small to medium sized, cryptozoic and semi-fossorial species. Morphological data of Tantilla melanocephala in the Eastern Caribbean region, and more precisely on the islands of... more
Tantilla is a diverse New World Colubrid genus comprising 69 small to medium sized, cryptozoic and semi-fossorial species. Morphological data of Tantilla melanocephala in the Eastern Caribbean region, and more precisely on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and nearby Venezuela, have shown differences in scales and color patterns associated with these localities, which may suggest the presence of cryptic species in the region. Assessing the monophyly of Tantilla melanocephala is key as its paraphyly could compromise important decisions for conservation and management. In this study, we conduct phylogenetic analyses of all available Tantilla from GenBank (n = 11), including T. melanocephala from French Guiana and Brazil, along with novel sequences from Guyana, Venezuela, Trinidad, and Tobago. Broadly, we recover two sister clades within Tantilla, a North American-Central American clade and a Central American-South American clade with a time since its most recent ancestor dating to the Mid-Miocene. We found the sampled T. melanocephala to be monophyletic in all analyses and estimated the origin of this clade towards the early Pleistocene. The close association between Trinidad and Venezuela, dating towards the end of the Pleistocene, suggests connections in the recent past. This study is the first to assess the intraspecific variation in the species and we hope it will set a landmark to complete the systematic characterization of the entire species throughout its widespread distribution.
Over the last two decades, molecular work on the reptile and amphibian fauna of the island of Trinidad (West Indies) has revealed the presence of cryptic species and island endemics resulting in the re-description of species for northern... more
Over the last two decades, molecular work on the reptile and amphibian fauna of the island of Trinidad (West Indies) has revealed the presence of cryptic species and island endemics resulting in the re-description of species for northern South America. In this study, we assess the taxonomy of a population of Elachistocleis sp. formerly assigned to the invalid species E. ovalis, and E. surinamensis, both present in Trinidad and throughout South America. We conduct phylogenetic, morphological, and call characteristic analyses to assess their taxonomy and discuss the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the genus. We find an Andean origin of the genus dating to the Oligocene and two sister clades within Elachistocleis with a Mid-Miocene divergence, coinciding with marine incursions at the time. We discuss their likely dispersal throughout South America following the dry-out of the Pebas mega-wetland system and attempt to find the routes of expansions, probably aided through the Amazon basin and hydrological systems towards the north and east. We find that each of the species is highly divergent and recovered in both sister clades, and we time the colonization of each Trinidad population at 2.1 and 0.5 million years ago, arriving from different regions (Venezuela and Guyana) facilitated by sea-level drops at the time. Lastly, we select a neotype for E. surinamensis from Trinidad to stabilize the nomenclature and describe the frog formerly considered E. ovalis in Trinidad as E. nigrogularis sp. nov.
The Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus, was until recently considered a single species, distributed from southern Arizona through the Neotropics into southeastern Brazil. However, newly conducted research restructured the species with a... more
The Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus, was until recently considered a single species, distributed from southern Arizona through the Neotropics into southeastern Brazil. However, newly conducted research restructured the species with a substantial taxonomic revision, recognizing five additional taxa (i.e. O. koehleri, O. microphthalmus, O. potosiensis, O. rutherfordi, O. vittatus) in this species complex. This revision focused on populations in North America, Central America, and northern South America while neglecting the southern portion of its distribution. Here, we examine the taxonomic history of the complex and use it along with specimen data to resurrect O. acuminatus from southeastern Brazil. Finally, we describe a new species from the Peruvian Amazon based on morphological characters. This work increases the species diversity of the O. aeneus complex to eight, and we expect further increases in biodiversity discoveries with continued exploration of the New World vine snakes.
Snakes, particularly venomous snakes and exceptionally large constricting snakes, have haunted the human brain for a millennium. They appear to be responsible for our excellent vision, as well as the anxiety we feel. Despite the dangers... more
Snakes, particularly venomous snakes and exceptionally large constricting snakes, have haunted the human brain for a millennium. They appear to be responsible for our excellent vision, as well as the anxiety we feel. Despite the dangers we faced in prehistory, snakes now hold clues to solving some of humankind's most debilitating diseases. Pythons and boas are capable of eating prey that is equal to more than their body weight, and their adaptations for this are providing insight into diabetes. Fascination with snakes has also drawn many to keep them as pets, including the largest species. Their popularity in the pet trade has led to these large constrictors inhabiting southern Florida. This book explores what we know about the largest snakes, how they are kept in captivity, and how they have managed to traverse ocean barriers with our help. REPLACE
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A summary of the Trinidad and Tobago herpetofauna
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There are approximately 3,400 species of snakes known, and the number is increasing as scientists look more carefully at snake diversity. About 20% of these snakes are front-fanged species and about 5% pose a serious threat to the health... more
There are approximately 3,400 species of snakes known, and the number is increasing as scientists look more carefully at snake diversity. About 20% of these snakes are front-fanged species and about 5% pose a serious threat to the health of a human or pet. Snake envenomation in dogs and humans is a complex medical problem and occurs wherever venomous snakes exist. Snake diversity is highest at tropical and sub-tropical latitudes, but temperate zones also support diverse snake communities. The American south and southwest are rich in snake species and the state of Arizona boasts the greatest number of rattlesnake species.The exact number of humans bitten by venomous snakes each year is unknown. In remote areas of the world, records of snakebites in humans and dogs are unavailable or unreliable. Many people bitten by snakes are in fact bitten by harmless snakes and, of those who are bitten by venomous species, not all receive venom (a dry bite). In cases where envenomation occurs, death is by no means a certainty since, more often than not, a snake delivers a sub-lethal dose of venom. Here we discuss ways in which dog-owners can reduce the probability that their dog will be bitten by a venomous snake.
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A summary of the biodiversity of Arizona's herpetofauna
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A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Trinidad & Tobago provides background information on the islands' environments, and species accounts for all of the known amphibians and reptiles inhabiting this island archipelago. The fauna... more
A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Trinidad & Tobago provides background information on the islands' environments, and species accounts for all of the known amphibians and reptiles inhabiting this island archipelago. The fauna is decidedly continental despite the islands are often cited as the southernmost Lesser Antilles. This work will replace the 1997 Amphibians and Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago with updated nomenclature and the fauna that has been discovered since the publication of that book. There are 180 plates, most are in color. Range maps based upon museum specimens are present for most of the species. The book also contains six appendices that cover topics ranging from snakebite, to tadpoles, and where to stay when you are in the islands.
Citation: Murphy JC, Downie JR, Smith JM, Livingstone SM, Mohammed RS, Auguste, RJ, Lehtinen RM, Eyre M, Sewlal J-AN, Noriega N, Casper GS, Anton T, Thomas RA, Rutherford MG, Braswell AL, Jowers MJ. 2018. A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club, Port of Spain 340 pp.
This book will be available from TTFNC: admin@ttfnc.org
Citation: Murphy JC, Downie JR, Smith JM, Livingstone SM, Mohammed RS, Auguste, RJ, Lehtinen RM, Eyre M, Sewlal J-AN, Noriega N, Casper GS, Anton T, Thomas RA, Rutherford MG, Braswell AL, Jowers MJ. 2018. A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club, Port of Spain 340 pp.
This book will be available from TTFNC: admin@ttfnc.org
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In Prep. Since the publication of Tales of Giant Snakes (1997) much what we knew has changed. The fossil record has revealed remains of truly huge snakes. Evidence and hypotheses about how snakes evolved their giant size have become more... more
In Prep. Since the publication of Tales of Giant Snakes (1997) much what we knew has changed. The fossil record has revealed remains of truly huge snakes. Evidence and hypotheses about how snakes evolved their giant size have become more detailed. Ecological field studies of giant snake have increased. Giant and near giant snakes have become more popular than ever in the pet trade and are being bred in captivity as designer snakes. The novelty skin industry is consuming giant snakes in greater numbers than ever. Giant snakes have become invasive in south Florida and populations of the Boa constrictor have invaded several Caribbean islands. Of lesser importance, the record we considered to represent the largest known extant snake has proved to be false.
Murphy and Henderson (1997) defined giant snakes as those species that exceed 20 feet (6.1 m). I will continue with that definition for giant species, and define the near giant species as those that approach the 6.1 meters but specimens attaining this size have not yet been confirmed. The extant giant snakes appear to be the Common Anaconda (Eunectes murinus), the Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus), the Burmese Python (Python bivittatus), and Seba’s African Python (Python sebae). Near giants are the Indian Python (Python molurus), the Southern African Python (Python natalensis), Kinghorn’s Scrub Python (Morelia kinghorni) and the Western Olive Python (Liasis olivacea barroni). On March 6, 2015 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) finalized the Constrictor Rule. A controversial policy designed to reduce the probability that more invasive constricting snakes will find their way into North American ecosystems. The Constrictor Rule declared the Reticulated Python, DeSchauensee’s Anaconda, Green Anaconda and Beni Anaconda as “injurious” under the Lacey Act. A fifth species, the Boa constrictor, was removed from consideration for listing as an injurious wildlife species. The listing prohibits the import of the four snakes into the United States and its territories, and interstate transport for snakes already in the country. The prohibitions apply to live individuals, gametes, viable eggs or hybrids of the four snakes. The rule sparked considerable controversy because these species, particularly the Reticulated Python are in the pet trade and the designer snake industry. This volume is not intended to be a platform for political activism. It is about science, natural history, and how humans and exceptionally large serpents relate to each other. This volume is a look at what we have learned about large snakes since the publication of Tales of Giant Snakes.
Murphy and Henderson (1997) defined giant snakes as those species that exceed 20 feet (6.1 m). I will continue with that definition for giant species, and define the near giant species as those that approach the 6.1 meters but specimens attaining this size have not yet been confirmed. The extant giant snakes appear to be the Common Anaconda (Eunectes murinus), the Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus), the Burmese Python (Python bivittatus), and Seba’s African Python (Python sebae). Near giants are the Indian Python (Python molurus), the Southern African Python (Python natalensis), Kinghorn’s Scrub Python (Morelia kinghorni) and the Western Olive Python (Liasis olivacea barroni). On March 6, 2015 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) finalized the Constrictor Rule. A controversial policy designed to reduce the probability that more invasive constricting snakes will find their way into North American ecosystems. The Constrictor Rule declared the Reticulated Python, DeSchauensee’s Anaconda, Green Anaconda and Beni Anaconda as “injurious” under the Lacey Act. A fifth species, the Boa constrictor, was removed from consideration for listing as an injurious wildlife species. The listing prohibits the import of the four snakes into the United States and its territories, and interstate transport for snakes already in the country. The prohibitions apply to live individuals, gametes, viable eggs or hybrids of the four snakes. The rule sparked considerable controversy because these species, particularly the Reticulated Python are in the pet trade and the designer snake industry. This volume is not intended to be a platform for political activism. It is about science, natural history, and how humans and exceptionally large serpents relate to each other. This volume is a look at what we have learned about large snakes since the publication of Tales of Giant Snakes.
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Note that there is a companion website for this book and it can be seen at: http://secretsofthesnakecharmer.blogspot.com/ Humans and snakes have an intimate and ancient relationship that often revolves around either love or hate. Snakes... more
Note that there is a companion website for this book and it can be seen at: http://secretsofthesnakecharmer.blogspot.com/ Humans and snakes have an intimate and ancient relationship that often revolves around either love or hate. Snakes can be seen as gods, spiritual messengers, symbols of fertility, and guardians of resources in virtually all cultures. In Secrets of the Snake Charmer, John Murphy, a research associate of the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, provides an in-depth, twenty-first century look at snakes utilizing the published research of other herpetologists as well as his own personal experiences and speculations. Murphy covers a wide range of topics such as the adaptability of snakes, the ways in which evolution has tinkered with snakes during the last 160 million years, and the impact snakes have on the ecological communities they live in. While sharing ideas about the origin of snakes, rattlesnake rattles, and spitting in cobras, Murphy presents an innovative portrayal of snakes that proves they co-evolve with their prey, predators, and parasites in order to fulfill a significant and novel role in the web of life.
Homalopsid snakes are aquatic rear-fanged snakes that inhabit freshwater, brackish water, and marine environments from Pakistan's Indus River eastward to Queensland, Australia. While a few live in flowing streams with clear water and... more
Homalopsid snakes are aquatic rear-fanged snakes that inhabit freshwater, brackish water, and marine environments from Pakistan's Indus River eastward to Queensland, Australia. While a few live in flowing streams with clear water and rocky bottoms, most live in the muddy habitats created by Himalayan silt flowing to the seas of Southeast Asia. Many feed on fish, but a few have adapted to feeding on crustaceans and some are commensal with crustaceans living in their burrows. The Indochinese Peninsula and Sunda Shelf contain the greatest species diversity, and the history of these snakes is closely tied to the changing landscape of Southeast Asia. Homalopsid Snakes: Evolution in the Mud is the only available book on these aquatic reptiles and the first comprehensive review of the group in 35 years. It contains species accounts, summaries of the author's field work, and photographs of the snakes and their morphology which can only be found in this book.
Tales of Giant Snakes, examines the natural history of four species of snakes known to exceed 20 feet in length. Based on the writings of explorers, missionaries, scientists, and adventurers over the past 200 years, the authors have... more
Tales of Giant Snakes, examines the natural history of four species of snakes known to exceed 20 feet in length. Based on the writings of explorers, missionaries, scientists, and adventurers over the past 200 years, the authors have pieced together exciting and informative glimpses into the lives of these legless giants. Included are chapters on where they are found (often around human habitations), what they eat (includes crocodiles, deer, and cows), how big do they really get (a controversial subject), attacks on humans (rare), exploitation by humans for their skins, and conservation. The book is illustrated with photos, historical lithographs, maps, and graphs.
Tens of thousands of dogs are bitten each year by snakes. The USA has about 25 species of venomous snakes; they occur in all states except Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine. Learn what simple steps you can take to protect your dog from snake... more
Tens of thousands of dogs are bitten each year by snakes. The USA has about 25 species of venomous snakes; they occur in all states except Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine. Learn what simple steps you can take to protect your dog from snake envenomation. Learn what to do if you, or your dog, is bitten by a venomous snake. If you hunt, fish, camp or hike with your dog in areas where poisonous snakes occur you will want the information in this book. We are also interested in snake conservation and provide suggestions for maintaining a healthy snake community in urban areas.
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The Santa Rita Experimental Range herpetofauna has about nine amphibians, two turtles, 25 lizards, and 25 snake species. In some adjacent, urbanized areas drip irrigation systems have been installed. The numbers of individuals and... more
The Santa Rita Experimental Range herpetofauna has about nine amphibians, two turtles, 25 lizards, and 25 snake species. In some adjacent, urbanized areas drip irrigation systems have been installed. The numbers of individuals and species in areas with and without drip irrhgation systems is compared.