Molecular Identification of Python Species (Squamata: Pythonidae) From Mizoram, Northeast India, With Comments on Wildlife Trafficking

Pythonidae, an ancient group of Old World, wide-ranging, constrictor snakes, are known to contain a high degree of cryptic diversity.India harbours three python species, Python molurus, P. bivittatus, and Malayopython reticulatus.The former two species are not uncommon within their respective distribution range in India, but occurrence of the latter has only been confirmed in the Nicobar Islands, and there are two orphaned records from eastern West Bengal.We confirm the occurrence of P. bivittatus and M. reticulatus in Northeast India based on genetics using the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and morphological characters.Our study reveals multiple lineages among M. reticulatus, corroborating previous studies, and further reveals the absence of a barcode gap between sequences submitted as P. molurus and P. bivittatus among the sampled DNA sequences, and an unexpected lineage of Northeast Indian P. bivittatus based on a sample divergent from the East and Southeast Asian populations that will need further systematic assessment.