The genome of the relict earless monitor lizard, Lanthanotus borneensis, and the Toxicofera hypothesis

Future studies of the evolution of the venom delivery system in Toxicofera require a "true" species tree but also individual gene trees due to incomplete lineage sorting and the concomitant potential for hemiplasy. Titin-a key component of striated muscle elasticity-emerges as a target for future evolutionary studies in Toxicofera and especially in wide-gaped snakes ("Macrostomata"). The low observed genome-wide heterozygosity and the low but stable effective population size of L. borneensis during the large-scale habitat fluctuations on Sundaland in the Quaternary suggest an unexpected resilience to environmental perturbations but also a potentially lowered adaptive potential of this isolated lineage.