The Phyllotis xanthopygus complex (Rodentia, Cricetidae) in central Andes, systematics and description of a new species

JAYAT, J. PABLO; TETA, PABLO; OJEDA, AGUSTINA A.; STEPPAN, SCOTT J.; OSLAND, JARED M.; ORTIZ, PABLO E.; NOVILLO, AGUSTINA; LANZONE, CECILIA; OJEDA, RICARDO A.

ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2021

0300-3256

Phyllotis Waterhouse 1837 is one of the most studied genera of South American cricetidrodents. As currently understood, it includes 20 small to medium-sized speciesof predominantly rocky habitats. Among them, populations of the yellow-rumpedleaf-eared mouse, traditionally referred to P. xanthopygus (Waterhouse 1837), arethe most widely distributed, extending from central Peru to southern Chile andArgentina. Based mostly on molecular evidence, previous studies suggested thatP. xanthopygus constitutes a species complex, being characterized by geographicallystructured and genetically divergent clades. In this work, we compare the molecularphylogenetic hypothesis for populations distributed on the eastern slopes of thecentral Andes with morphometric evidence using univariate and multivariate analyses.Quantitative morphological and molecular evidence suggests that at least fournearly cryptic species of the P. xanthopygus complex occur from southern Boliviato west-central Argentina. Three of these taxa have available names; one of them,P. caprinus, is currently recognized to the species level; the other two, the clades ofP. x. posticalis-P. x. rupestris and P. vaccarum, are both recognized as subspeciesof P. xanthopygus. The remaining taxon represents a new species distributed in thewest-central Andes of Argentina. We discuss our morphological results in the lightof other sources of evidence (e.g. qualitative and quantitative state characters, geneticand phylogenetic studies, and cytogenetic data) and name the new species as P. pehuenche,honouring the original native people that historically inhabited west-centralAndes of Argentina.