Data from: Synopsis and taxonomic revision of three genera in the snake tribe Sonorini

Delimiting species is a crucial goal of integrative biology, and yet can
be misled by homoplasy and high levels of morphological variation. The
snake tribe Sonorini contains three genera that have long confounded
taxonomists: Chilomeniscus, Chionactis and Sonora. Dynamic colour
evolution in this group, including rampant geographic variation in colour
and colour polymorphism, has led to a chaotic taxonomy. We used
mitochondrial and high-throughput nuclear data (ddRADseq) and complete
taxonomic sampling of each genus to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships
and systematically revise the genus. Our research revealed that Sonora is
paraphyletic with regards to Chilomeniscus and Chionactis and that at
least one species (S. semiannulata) is paraphyletic with respect to at
least one other recognized species. Additionally, we found substantial
undescribed genetic diversity within multiple species which is incongruent
with morphological variation in coloration. Accordingly, we proposed
synonymizing Chionactis and Chilomeniscus with Sonora, which has taxonomic
priority over both genera. As we found genetic evidence that supported
some of the historically delimited diversity within multiple taxa, we
revised species-level taxonomy accordingly. This new taxonomy recognizes a
revised genus of Sonora that contains 15 species of diminutive and often
brightly coloured snakes that are distributed from central Mexico to
north-western USA.