S) and quantity of postocular scales (one vs. two in R. dayanae sp. nov.). The best-studied species in the genus, R. melanocephalus, was found to be paraphyletic (Fig. 2A). This species concealed an unidentified and PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20009077 morphologically equivalent arid species, described herein as R. dayanae sp. nov. This addition of a new species of snake towards the fauna of Israel is surprising contemplating the lengthy history of herpetological guides within the nation (e.g., Haas, 1951; Barash Hoofien, 1956; Arbel, 1984; Werner, 1988; Werner, 1995; Bouskila Amitai, 2001; Bar Haimovitch, 2013; Werner, 2016). This somewhat recentTamar et al. (2016), PeerJ, DOI 10.7717/peerj.24/discovery may perhaps stem in the reclusive nature of those snakes, and because much more specimens from southern Israel happen to be collected only not too long ago. Subsequently, there are actually a mere six specimens known within the newly-discovered species in natural history collections, only 4 of which could be successfully applied for genetic analyses (Tables S1 and S3). This new species from the Negev Mountain region in Israel is morphologically and genetically distinct, using a limited distribution from about the town of Mitzpe Ramon westward towards the Egyptian border (Fig. 1). The specimens examined within this study reveal R. dayanae sp. nov. and R. melanocephalus to become allopatric species, separated by a distance of 15 km (among specimens HUJ.R22054, R22055 in locations 6 in Fig. 1 and HUJ.R21704, location 5). Nevertheless, because of the low quantity of specimens in the region and of samples available, this assessment might change together with the accumulation of far more information. The molecular benefits reveal that R. dayanae sp. nov. is phylogenetically closely associated to R. arabicus from Oman as opposed to for the geographically adjacent populations of R. melanocephalus in Israel 7-Deazaadenosine cost northwards to Turkey. This relationship is surprising, as the two former species are positioned at a distance of about 2,500 km from one a different (Fig. 1), whereas the closest collecting localities of R. melanocephalus and R. dayanae are just 15 km apart. As Rhynchocalamus snakes are rare and observations of them are scarce (specimens were not observed in various surveys in Arabia; e.g., Gasperetti, 1988; Sch ti Gasperetti, 1994; Sch ti Desvoignes, 1999; Van der Kooij, 2001; Gardner, 2013), it’s plausible that a connection exist amongst populations, particularly in desert habitats (as suggested in Gasperetti, 1988). Specimens in the Sinai Peninsula (Table S3; HUJ.R8856; HUJ.R8885; TAU.R12494; Baha El Din, 2006) present a morphological combination of meristic characters equivalent each to R. dayanae sp. nov. (eight decrease labials, 67 ; 4 reduce labials in make contact with with the anterior inframaxillars, 100 ) and to R. melanocephalus (one particular post-ocular scale; two posttemporal scales; 13 dorsal and temporal scales surrounding the parietals). The Sinai specimens’ colouration is consistent with that of R. melanocephalus (gular scales as well as the upper and decrease labials white). At this point, due to the low sample size, we can not determine the taxonomic classification on the Sinai specimens and for that reason cannot reject the presence of R. dayanae sp. nov. in the Sinai Peninsula. Mainly because these specimens were kept for decades in formalin, the possibility of a genetic study was not feasible. The distribution of R. melanocephalus in Israel isn’t well defined, since it is largely identified in the Ecotone region within the northern Negev and northwards, and with modest marginal population inside the Negev deser.
