Phylogeography of the armadillo Chaetophractus villosus (Dasypodidae – Xenarthra): post-glacial range expansion from Pampas to Patagonia (Argentina).

POLJAK SEBASTÍAN; CONFALONIERI VIVIANA; FASANELLA MARIANA; GABRIELLI MAGALI; LIZARRALDE MARTA S.

MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION

Elsevier

Año: 2010 p. 1 - 9

1055-7903

Abstract We report a phylogeographic study of Chaetophractus villosus populations in Argentina. Control Region (CR) sequences (484 pb) were obtained for 76 Ch. villosus from 20 locations across the species whole distribution range. Seventeen new haplotypes were identified. The highest genetic variation and the earliest fossils were found in the Pampean region, thus appearing as the most probable area of origin of the species. A general pattern of contiguous range expansion was revealed by Nested Clade Analysis (NCA) while population expansion was suggested by the mismatch analyses. The Pampean region would have been the preexpansion area, while Patagonia would have been the main dispersal route of contiguous expansion, possibly after the Pleistocenic glaciations. We propose the existence of a ghost lineage of Chaetophractus vellerosus, a sister species of Ch. villosus. The accurate identification of the fossils in the collections is essential for more realistic phylogeographic studies.