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Abstract
The genus Drysdalia contains three recognised species of elapid (front-fanged) snakes,
distributed across south-eastern Australia (including Tasmania). Here we aim to clarify
the biogeography and phylogeographical relationships of this poorly documented region.
We conducted molecular phylogenetic and dating analyses, using mitochondrial genes
(ND4 and cyt-b). Our analyses suggest that divergence events among the three extant
species, and among major lineages within those species, are congruent with Plio-pleistocene
climatic variations. Two highly divergent genetic lineages within Drysdalia coronoides
occur in Tasmania. Molecular dating suggests that these lineages were isolated from
the mainland in the Pleistocene.
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