Taxonomic assessment of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) in Kasur and Lahore Districts, Punjab, Pakistan: A morphological and phylogenetic analysis

Muhammad  Rizwan; Shahzad Ali; Muhammad  Imran; Andleeb  Batool; Mariam  Munir; Zainab  Basharat; Attaullah; Tooba  Latif; Nasir  Ali; Muhammad  Jahanzeb; Shamshair  Ahmad; Muhammad  Tayyub; Ghulam  Jaffar; Maria  Parveen; Ahmad  Hassan

Authors

Muhammad Rizwan Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7447-5452
Shahzad Ali University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4281-2659
Muhammad Imran Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8776-3788
Andleeb Batool Department of Zoology, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1326-8458
Mariam Munir Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5840-4091
Zainab Basharat Department of Zoology, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8045-5020
Attaullah Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1134-5226
Tooba Latif IIIinois Natural History Survey-Prairie Research Institute, University of IIIinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States of America https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6519-1560
Nasir Ali Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2229-8659
Muhammad Jahanzeb Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1150-4506
Shamshair Ahmad Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4028-9034
Muhammad Tayyub Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5349-5535
Ghulam Jaffar Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2495-7777
Maria Parveen Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4015-4837
Ahmad Hassan Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0298-9922

Keywords:

Diversity, Common Krait, Snake, Pakistan

Abstract

Habitat fragmentation, inbreeding, and genetic drift are responsible for the loss of genetic variability. Advancement in molecular techniques is key to understanding species identification, species relationships, and evolution. The present was designed to collect information about the morphological variations and genetic diversity of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) from two districts (Kasur and Lahore) of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Thirteen specimens of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) were collected from different locations in both districts. Data related to habitat, species, age, sex, location (village/tehsil/district), urbanicity global positioning system (GPS) coordinate, and sampling date were noted in the field. First, we study morphological variations in individuals. Then mtDNA (cytochrome-b) sequence of B. caeruleus was used to compare the phylogenetic status among inter and intra-species. Significant morphological variations are seen among the samples. The body measurement results show that area in the length and weight of the individual. There was no difference genetically between the thirteen samples of B. caeruleus.

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Taxonomic assessment of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) in Kasur and Lahore Districts, Punjab, Pakistan: A morphological and phylogenetic analysis

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Taxonomic assessment of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) in Kasur and Lahore Districts, Punjab, Pakistan: A morphological and phylogenetic analysis

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