A reassessment of Cuora cyclornata Blanck, McCord and Le, 2006 (testudines, geoemydidae) and a plea for taxonomic stability

Abstract

We analyze the phylogenetic variation present in the Cuora trifasciata species complex using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data. We use this information to evaluate the recent description of Cuora cyclornata Blanck, McCord, and Le (2006), and reinterpret this proposed species in light of likely mitochondrial introgression. Our results indicate that the pattern of variation within the Cuora trifasciata species complex is better explained by mitochondrial introgression coupled with hybridization and/or clinal variation, than it is by the presence of a previously unrecognized species. We also use our phylogeny as a framework for discussion of additional proposed changes to generic level taxonomy in this critically imperiled clade. Our results highlight the importance of appropriate data sampling in taxonomic revisions and suggest that Cuora cyclornata be treated as a junior synonym of Cuora trifasciata. Copyright © 2009 · Magnolia Press.