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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">102</journal-id>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="index">urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:73abe0ce-d97c-5d7c-bee5-b8e6e6fe6a17</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title xml:lang="en">ARPHA Preprints</journal-title>
        <abbrev-journal-title xml:lang="en">preprints</abbrev-journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Pensoft Publishers</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3897/arphapreprints.e159478</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">159478</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Research Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="biological_taxon">
          <subject>Colubridae</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="scientific_subject">
          <subject>Phylogeny</subject>
          <subject>Systematics</subject>
          <subject>Taxonomy</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="geographical_area">
          <subject>South America</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Molecular and morphological insights into the taxonomy and distribution of the Amazonian snake <italic>Erythrolamprus carajasensis</italic> (Cunha, Nascimento &amp; Ávila Pires, 1985) (Serpentes, Xenodontinae)</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group content-type="authors">
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Guimarães</surname>
            <given-names>Alessandra Cavalcante</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">alessandraserps@gmail.com</email>
          <uri content-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8704-5396</uri>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A2">2</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Zaher</surname>
            <given-names>Hussam El Dine</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A3">3</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Nunes</surname>
            <given-names>Gisele Lopes</given-names>
          </name>
          <uri content-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3994-5135</uri>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A4">4</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Prudente</surname>
            <given-names>Ana Lúcia da Costa</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A2">2</xref>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <aff id="A1">
        <label>1</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil</addr-line>
        <institution>Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Belém</addr-line>
        <country>Brazil</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A2">
        <label>2</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil</addr-line>
        <institution>Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Belém</addr-line>
        <country>Brazil</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A3">
        <label>3</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Museu de Zoologia da USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil</addr-line>
        <institution>Museu de Zoologia da USP</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Sao Paulo</addr-line>
        <country>Brazil</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A4">
        <label>4</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém, Brazil</addr-line>
        <institution>Instituto Tecnológico Vale</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Belém</addr-line>
        <country>Brazil</country>
      </aff>
      <author-notes>
        <fn fn-type="corresp">
          <p>Corresponding author: Alessandra Cavalcante Guimarães (<email xlink:type="simple">alessandraserps@gmail.com</email>).</p>
        </fn>
        <fn fn-type="edited-by">
          <p>Academic editor: </p>
        </fn>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date pub-type="collection">
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>20</day>
        <month>05</month>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>6</volume>
      <uri content-type="arpha" xlink:href="http://openbiodiv.net/1013CF10-936F-547C-8D1D-19C5485AA31D">1013CF10-936F-547C-8D1D-19C5485AA31D</uri>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received">
          <day>19</day>
          <month>05</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>19</day>
          <month>05</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>Alessandra Cavalcante Guimarães, Hussam El Dine Zaher, Gisele Lopes Nunes, Ana Lúcia da Costa Prudente</copyright-statement>
        <license license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple">
          <license-p>This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <label>Abstract</label>
        <p><i>Erythrolamprus carajasensis</i> was originally described from the canga areas of the Carajás region in the state of Pará, Brazil, and its distribution is restricted to the type locality. The species exhibits morphological similarities to <i>E. almadensis</i>, which has a parapatric distribution. In this study, we investigated the taxonomic status of <i>E. carajasensis</i> using both molecular and morphological data. We generated mitochondrial gene sequences (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) for three specimens of <i>E. carajasensis</i> and 11 specimens of <i>E. almadensis </i>and compared them with sequences available in GenBank for Bayesian phylogenetic inference. We examined specimens of <i>E.</i> <i>carajasensis</i>, including its type series, and compared them with morphologically related and congeneric taxa. Our analysis included meristic and morphometric characters, color patterns, hemipenis and cranial osteology. Our integrative approach thus supports the recognition of <i>E. carajasensis</i> as a distinct evolutionary lineage from <i>E. almadensis</i>, despite their morphological conservatism in some characters. The skull differences observed, which are congruent with the molecular phylogeny and geographic distribution, justify the redefinition of <i>E. carajasensis</i> to include Amazonian populations formerly attributed to <i>E. almadensis</i>. In contrast, <i>E. almadensis </i>is now restricted to extra-Amazonian populations in Brazil, primarily those occurring in the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and ecotonal regions with the Caatinga, in eastern and southern Brazil. The geographic separation between <i>E. almadensis</i> and <i>E. carajasensis</i> is primarily delineated by the Amazon–Tocantins interfluve, reflecting ecological and possibly historical barriers to dispersal.</p>
      </abstract>
      <funding-group>
        <award-group>
          <funding-source>
            <named-content content-type="funder_name">Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos</named-content>
            <named-content content-type="funder_identifier">501100004809</named-content>
            <named-content content-type="funder_ror">https://ror.org/030w99567</named-content>
            <named-content content-type="funder_doi">http://doi.org/10.13039/501100004809</named-content>
          </funding-source>
        </award-group>
      </funding-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
