Recent research into the snake vertebral column has highlighted the importance of considering regionalization and its implications for the life history of snakes. Our research delves into the distinctions in vertebral column morphology and regionalization within the snake family Colubridae, comparing arboreal and terrestrial species. Our results provide significant support for dissociation between two pre-cloacal regions: the ‘pre-atrial’ (anterior to heart) and the ‘post-atrial’ (posterior to heart). Furthermore, the two ecological groups display distinct proportional compositions between the two pre-cloacal regions and the one post-cloacal region (caudal); arboreal species tend to possess a higher proportion of caudal vertebrae, whereas terrestrial species exhibit a higher proportion of post-atrial vertebrae. Our study reveals that the axial morphology of arboreal species is distinct from that of terrestrial species; however, this was not attributable to a convergent evolution process. By estimating the evolutionary history of vertebral number in each region between the ecological groups, we find each region has a unique pattern, further highlighting evolutionary disassociation between the regions. This study adds to the growing evidence on regionalization of the pre-cloacal snake vertebral column and underscores the importance in continuing to develop our understanding of snake evolution.

中文翻译：

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脊椎区域的改变解释了树栖游蛇的心脏位置（蛇类：游蛇科）

最近对蛇脊柱的研究强调了考虑区域化的重要性及其对蛇生活史的影响。我们的研究深入研究蛇科蛇科脊柱形态和区域化的差异，比较树栖和陆生物种。我们的结果为两个前泄殖腔区域之间的分离提供了重要支持：“心房前”（心脏前）和“心房后”（心脏后）。此外，这两个生态群在两个前泄殖腔区域和一个后泄殖腔区域（尾部）之间表现出不同的比例组成；树栖物种往往拥有较高比例的尾椎，而陆生物种则表现出较高比例的后房椎骨。我们的研究表明，树栖物种的轴向形态与陆生物种不同。然而，这不能归因于趋同进化过程。通过估计生态群之间每个区域的脊椎动物数量的进化历史，我们发现每个区域都有独特的模式，进一步凸显了区域之间的进化分离。这项研究为泄殖腔前蛇脊柱的区域化提供了越来越多的证据，并强调了继续发展我们对蛇进化的理解的重要性。