The genetic relationships among 11 species of Bothrops found in Brazil were determined using random amplified fragment (RAPD) information. A total of 239 amplified bands were scored using 20 aleatory primers. Most of the bands (88.7%) were polymorphic. Phylogenetic analysis of the data determined three similarity groups within Bothrops: Group I- B. alternatus, B. neuwiedi, B. cotiara, and B. jararacusu; Group II- B. insularis, B. jararaca, and B. erythromelas; and Group III- B. moojeni, B. leucurus, and B. atrox. These groups coincided with those obtained by other methods, indicating that RAPD's could be a useful tool for the evaluation of genetic relationships at the interspecific level.
Bothrops; RAPD; molecular markers; genetic relationship
