Herpetological Conservation and Biology 3(1):88-102. Submitted: 14 May 2007; Accepted: 5 January 2008 MULTIPLE PATERNITY IN THE ORIENTAL-AUSTRALIAN REAR-FANGED WATERSNAKES (HOMALOPSIDAE) 1,2 1,3 1,4 HAROLD K. VORIS , DARYL R. KARNS , KEVIN A. FELDHEIM , 3 3 BOBAK KECHAVARZI , AND MEGAN RINEHART 1Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA 2Corresponding author e-mail:
[email protected] 3Department of Biology, Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana 47243, USA 4Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA Abstract.―We used species-specific microsatellite loci to detect multiple paternity in two species of homalopsid snakes, Enhydris enhydris and Enhydris subtaeniata. We collected data from nine loci for E. subtaeniata, and four for E. enhydris. Four E. subtaeniata litters and two E. enhydris litters were genotyped. All litters showed multiple paternity with three to five fathers typically detected. This is the first report of multiple paternity from a tropical Asian snake taxon. We discuss the significance of the results with respect to squamate behavioral ecology and compare our results to other studies on multiple paternity in reptiles. Key Words.―Enhydris enhydris; Enhydris subtaeniata; Homalopsidae; microsatellites; mud snakes; multiple paternity INTRODUCTION These studies include three taxonomic families (Pythonidae, Viperidae, and Colubridae; Lawson et al. Multiple paternity has now been demonstrated in 2005) and nine species, and suggest that multiple many animal taxa, including insects, fish, reptiles, birds, paternity is phylogenetically widespread among snakes and mammals (Birkhead and Moller 1998).