Filipek: The Role of Reticulate Evolution in the Diversification of the Snake Tribe Thamnophiini

Recent genomic evidence indicates that reticulate evolution in animals is potentially much more common at both deep and shallow phylogenetic levels than historically predicted. This discovery calls into question the phylogenetic history of animal species, which has traditionally been inferred as bifurcating trees representing no genetic exchange between branches. For this study, I aim to determine the role of reticulate evolution using phylogenetic network methods in the snake tribe Thamnophiini, which represents a good candidate group to study this recently discovered phenomenon.