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Posted by Terry Cox on October 12, 2002 at 07:21:14:
In Reply to: Re: Major problems with Elaphe... posted by Terry Cox on October 12, 2002 at 06:53:27:
I hit the post button by mistake. I'll just continue here...
I like the Quatuorlineata Group and Longissima Group, but think there should be a third group, which I call the miniature Eurasians, or Dione's group (dione, bimaculata, situla, and hohenackeri). Helfenberger has put dione, bimaculata, and situla in three different groups and doesn't accept their closeness. I work with all three of these species and feel they are quite close in ecology, behavior, and morphology.
In conclusion, I would agree with most workers and hobbyists that the Elaphe is too vast and varied, and much work needs to be done. It is a group of related species/genera that has seen little attention in the past.
The American species of colubrids have had much attention because of their closeness geographically and availability of live specimens. Until recently, live specimens haven't been too easy to get for most of the Old World Elaphe. Helfenberger seems to have worked with preserved specimans, btw, and I wonder if he would have been influenced differently if he would have had some live specimens to look at. Why can't ecology and behavior be characters that influence our decisions about phylogeny. I think we need to look at everything.
Oh, well. Thanks for your input, Van, and expertise. I know these discussions help me and I hope they are of value to others also.
TC
