Data from: Exploring Chihuahuan Desert diversification in the gray-banded kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (Serpentes: Colubridae)

Within many biomes, the cause of phylogeographic structure remains unknown
even across regions throughout North America, including within the
biodiverse Chihuahuan Desert. For example, little is know about population
structure or the diming of diversification of Chihuahuan endemics. In
part, this is due largely to the lack of population genomic studies within
this region. We generated ultra-conserved element data for the gray-banded
kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna) to investigate lineage divergence and
historical demography across the Chihuahuan Desert. We found three unique
lineages corresponding to the Trans-Pecos and Mapimian biogeographic
regions of the Chihuahuan Desert, and a distinct population in the Sierra
Madre Occidental. Using several different mutation rates to calibrate the
timing of divergence among these lineages, we demonstrate that lineage
divergence likely occurred during the Pleistocene. This also suggests that
careful consideration needs to be used when applying mutaiton rates to
ultra-conserved elements. We suggest that biogeographic provinces within
the Chihuahuan Desert may have served as allopatric refugia during
climatic fluctuations of the Quaternary. This work serves as an important
template for further testing biogeographic hypotheses within the region.