Phylogenetic relationships of sub-Saharan African natricine snakes are understudied and poorly understood, which in turn has precluded analyses of the historical biogeography of the Seychelles endemic Lycognathophis seychellensis. We inferred the phylogenetic relationships of Seychelles and mainland sub-Saharan natricines by analysing a multilocus DNA sequence dataset for three mitochondrial (mt) and four nuclear (nu) genes. The mainland sub-Saharan natricines and L. seychellensis comprise a well-supported clade. Two maximally supported sets of relationships within this clade are (Limnophis,Natriciteres) and (Afronatrix,(Hydraethiops,Helophis)). The relationships of L. seychellensis with respect to these two lineages are not clearly resolved by analysing concatenated mt and nu data. Analysed separately, nu data best support a sister relationship of L. seychellensis with (Afronatrix,(Hydraethiops,Helophis)) and mt data best support a sister relationship with all mainland sub-Saharan natricines. Methods designed to cope with incomplete lineage sorting strongly favour the former hypothesis. Genetic variation among up to 33 L. seychellensis from five Seychelles islands is low. Fossil calibrated divergence time estimates support an overseas dispersal of the L. seychellensis lineage to the Seychelles from mainland Africa ca. 43-25 million years before present (Ma), rather than this taxon being a Gondwanan relic.

Biomedical Research Center University of Vigo and Galicia Sur Health Institute Vigo Spain

CIBIO InBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos University of Porto 4485 661 Vairão Portugal

Department of Genetics Evolution and Environment University College London London WC1E 6BT UK

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD UK

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD UK; Conservation Programs Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh EH12 6TL UK

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD UK; Island Biodiversity and Conservation Centre University of Seychelles Mahé Seychelles

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD UK; NRA Environmental Consultants Cairns Queensland 4870 Australia

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD UK; School of Biology Chemistry and Forensic Science Wolverhampton University WV1 1LY UK; Island Biodiversity and Conservation Centre University of Seychelles Mahé Seychelles

Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology Manchester Metropolitan University UK; PAMS Foundation P O Box 16556 Arusha Tanzania

Independent Researcher Berlin Germany

Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic; National Museum Department of Zoology Prague Czech Republic

Island Biodiversity and Conservation Centre University of Seychelles Mahé Seychelles; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury CT2 7NR UK; Department of Genetics Evolution and Environment University College London London WC1E 6BT UK

Natural History Museum Victoria Mahé Seychelles

Port Elizabeth Museum Humewood Port Elizabeth 6013 South Africa; Department of Nature Conservation Management Natural Resource Science and Management Cluster Faculty of Science George Campus Nelson Mandela University George South Africa

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