Phylonyms; a Companion to the Phylocode

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Phylonyms; a Companion to the Phylocode Pan-Serpentes J. Head, K. de Queiroz and H. Greene, new clade name Registration Number: 121 (de Queiroz, 2007); however, possession of any of the apomorphies of Serpentes (this volume) De!nition: !e total clade of the crown clade constitutes evidence for inclusion of a species Serpentes. !is is a crown-based total-clade or specimen within Pan-Serpentes. In addition, de"nition. Abbreviated de"nition: total ∇ of Apesteguía and Zaher (2006) and Longrich et Serpentes. al. (2012) inferred characters to be synapomor- phies of Serpentes and the putative stem snakes Etymology: Pan (pre"x indicating that the Najash rionegrina and Coniophis precedens. Well- name refers to a total clade; derived from the delineated characters shared by these fossils and Greek Pantos, all, the whole) + Serpentes (see crown snakes include interdental ridges form- etymology for Serpentes in this volume). ing partial alveoli in marginal tooth-bearing elements (present in some other squamatans); Reference Phylogeny: !e reference phylog- parietal descending process contacts dorsal and eny is Figure 1 of Gauthier et al. (2012), where anterior margins of prootic and dorsal mar- Pan-Serpentes includes Najash rionegrina† and gin of parasphenoid rostrum, laterally enclos- all taxa below it (p. 12). !is is the result of the ing braincase; loss of upper temporal arch and "rst morphological phylogenetic analysis that: squamosal (also in some other squamatans); (1) tests monophyly of Serpentes and constituent subcentral paralymphatic fossae present on subclades via extensive taxon sampling; (2) infers posterior precloacal vertebrae; lymphapophyses at least some fossil taxa as stem snakes; and (3) present on cloacal vertebrae (also in some other places the snake total clade within a compre- long-bodied limb-reduced squamatans); haema- hensive phylogenetic hypothesis of Squamata. pophyses and pleuropophyses present on caudal Previous analyses have satis"ed some, but vertebrae; and pleurocentral hypapophyses on not all, of these criteria (e.g., Lee, 1997, 1998; (at least) anterior precloacal vertebrae (also in Tchernov et al., 2000; Rieppel and Zaher, 2000; some other squamatans). Scanlon and Lee, 2000; Lee and Scanlon, 2002; Apesteguía and Zaher, 2006; Scanlon, 2006; Synonyms: Approximate (some of which are Conrad, 2008; Wilson et al., 2010; Müller et al., also partial) synonyms are the same as those 2011; Zaher and Scanferla, 2012). listed for Serpentes (this volume). Serpentes of Estes et al. (1988) is an unambiguous synonym. Composition: Serpentes and all taxa sharing a more recent ancestry with that crown clade Comments: Although the concept of the snake than with the most closely related crown group. total clade is straightforward, there is consider- See Comments for a discussion of taxa that have able disagreement concerning both the closest been hypothesized to be members of the snake extant relatives of snakes and the members of stem group. the snake stem group. Various fossil taxa have been proposed to be stem snakes, including Diagnostic Apomorphies: As a total clade, Dinilysia patagonica (Scanlon and Lee, 2000; Pan-Serpentes may not have any apomorphies Lee and Scanlon, 2002, Zaher and Scanferla, Pan-Serpentes 2012), Najash rionegrina (Apesteguía and Zaher, contradicted their own stated adoption of the 2006), Coniophis precedens (Longrich et al., conventions proposed by Gauthier et al. (1988), 2012) the pachyophiids Pachyrhachis problem- which include using the best-known names aticus (Lee, 1998; Lee and Caldwell, 2000; Lee for crown clades. We have adopted that con- and Scanlon, 2002), Pachyophis woodwardi (Lee vention and thus apply the name Serpentes (in et al., 1999; Lee and Caldwell, 2000), Haasiophis this volume) to the snake crown clade. Conrad terrasanctus (Lee and Scanlon, 2002; Scanlon, (2008) mentioned the possibility of using the 2006; Lee, 2009), and Eupodophis descouensi name Ophidia for the snake total clade but did (Rage and Escuille, 2000; Palci et al., 2013), not formally adopt that idea. Because Ophidia and madtsoiids such as Wonambi naracoorten- has been de"ned explicitly as applying to a less sis and Yurlunggur spp. (Scanlon and Lee, 2000; inclusive clade (see below), and because we sup- Lee and Scanlon, 2002; Scanlon, 2006). All of port the convention of forming the name of the above taxa have highly elongated bodies and the total clade by adding a standard pre"x to highly reduced limbs, based on specimens pre- the name of the crown (see de Queiroz, 2007, serving articulated or directly associated cranial and references therein), we use the name Pan- and postcranial elements, except for Coniophis, Serpentes for the snake total clade. De Queiroz whose postcranial body form is inferred from (2007) used the name Pan-Serpentes to illustrate the hypothesized association of isolated, disar- some of the advantages of an integrated system ticulated elements, and all have been alterna- of crown and total clade names; however, we are tively considered to be crown snakes (Hecht, not treating Pan-Serpentes as a preexisting name 1959; Rieppel and Zaher, 2000; Tchernov et because it was used as a hypothetical example al., 2000; Rieppel et al., 2002; Apesteguía and rather than as a nomenclatural proposal (see Zaher, 2006; Conrad, 2008; Wilson et al., ICPN, Art. 7.2b; Cantino and de Queiroz, 2010; Gauthier et al., 2012; Longrich et al., 2020). 2012; Vasile et al., 2013). Other taxa exhibiting Lee (1997) de"ned the name Pythonomorpha minimal to moderate body elongation and fully Cope 1869 as applying to the clade originat- formed (if sometimes modi"ed) limbs have ing in the most recent common ancestor of also sometimes been inferred to be members snakes and mosasauroids (see also Lee, 1998; of the snake stem group, speci"cally “aigialo- Lee and Caldwell, 1998, 2000). However, saurs”, mosasaurids (highly aquatic forms), doli- given that snakes were explicitly excluded from chosaurids, Aphanizocnemus, and Adriosaurus Pythonomorpha by Cope (1869), it would be (Lee, 1997, 1998, 2009; Lee and Caldwell, more appropriate (ICPN, Rec. 11A; Cantino 2000). However, more recent and more com- and de Queiroz, 2020) to de"ne that name so prehensive morphological phylogenetic analyses that the inclusion of snakes is permitted but not of Squamata (Conrad, 2008; Gauthier et al., required (e.g., as the smallest clade containing 2012) and analyses using combined morpho- both Mosasaurus ho!manni and Dolichosaurus logical and molecular data (Wiens et al., 2010; longicollis, which would include snakes in the Müller et al., 2011) do not support dolichosau- context of the phylogeny of Lee and Caldwell rids, Adriosaurus, “aigialosaurs”, or mosasaurids [2000]). Lee and Caldwell (1998) de"ned the as stem snakes. name Ophidia Macartney 1802 as applying to Estes et al. (1988) applied the name Serpentes the clade originating in the most recent com- to the total clade of snakes using an explicit mon ancestor of Serpentes and Pachyrachis phylogenetic de"nition. However, that proposal problematicus, to which Lee (1998) added a 1132 Pan-Serpentes qualifying clause that would prevent use of the phenotype and the fossil record. Bull. Peabody name Ophidia in the context of phylogenies in Mus. Nat. Hist. 53:3–308. which any of 25 taxa not normally considered Hecht, M. K. 1959. Amphibians and reptiles. Pp. snakes are part of that clade. !ose de"nitions 130–146 in "e Geology and Paleontology of the Elk Mountain and Tabernacle Butte Area, are inappropriate given that the authors equated Wyoming (P. O. McGrew, ed.). Bull. Am. Mus. the name Ophidia with the English vernacular Nat. Hist. 117:1–176. name “snakes”, which they intended to refer to a Lee, M. S. Y. 1997. !e phylogeny of varanoid liz- clade composed of organisms that possess most ards and the a#nities of snakes. Philos. Trans. of the diagnostic characters of crown-group R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 352:53–91. snakes (Lee, 2001). According to the stated de"- Lee, M. S. Y. 1998. Convergent evolution and nition, an extinct species very similar in appear- character correlation in burrowing reptiles: ance to Pachyrachis but slightly more distantly towards a resolution of squamate phylogeny. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 65:369–453. related to extant snakes would not be part of Lee, M. S. Y. 2001. Snake origins and the need Ophidia, seemingly contrary to the authors’ for scienti"c agreement on vernacular names. intent. A more appropriate de"nition of Ophidia Paleobiology 27:1–6. would specify the reference of that name using Lee, M. S. Y. 2009. Hidden support from unprom- an apomorphy or set of apomorphies. ising data sets strong unites snakes with angui- morph “lizards”. J. Evol. Biol. 22:1308–1316. Literature Cited Lee, M. S. Y., and M. W. Caldwell. 1998. Anatomy and relationships of Pachyrhachis problemati- Apesteguía, S., and H. Zaher. 2006. A Cretaceous cus, a primitive snake with legs. Philos. Trans. terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 353:1521–1552. sacrum. Nature 440:1037–1040. Lee, M. S. Y., and M. W. Caldwell. 2000. Adriosaurus Cantino, P. D., and K. de Queiroz. 2020. International and the a#nities of mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature (PhyloCode), and snakes. J. Paleontol. 74:915–937. Version 6. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Lee, M. S. Y., M. W. Caldwell, and J. D. Scanlon. Conrad, J. L. 2008. Phylogeny and systematics of 1999. A second primitive marine snake: Squamata (Reptilia) based on morphology. Pachyophis woodwardi from the Cretaceous Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 310:1–182. of Bosnia-Herzegovina. J. Zool. Lond. Cope, E. D. 1869. On the reptilian orders, 248:509–520. Pythonomorpha and Streptosauria. Proc. Boston Lee, M. S. Y., and J. D. Scanlon. 2002. Snake phy- Soc. Nat. Hist. 12:250–266. logeny based on osteology, soft anatomy and Estes, R., K. de Queiroz, and J. A. Gauthier. 1988. ecology. Biol. Rev. 77:333–401.
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