What historical issue complicated early Lycodon classifications?
Answer
Lumping similar-looking but distinct species (cryptic species).
Historically, taxonomic classification of the snakes in the genus *Lycodon* faced significant challenges related to identification accuracy. Early systems often tended to lump snakes that shared similar external appearances into a single species designation. Conversely, they sometimes failed to separate cryptic species—those populations that appear virtually identical morphologically but are, in fact, genetically distinct evolutionary units. Modern analysis using multilocus phylogeny is actively correcting these historical ambiguities to chart true relationships.
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