Molecular and morphometrics evidence validates a Chacoan species of the grey leaf-eared mice genus Graomys (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)

L. IGNACIO FERRO; JUAN JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ

MAMMALIA

WALTER DE GRUYTER & CO

Año: 2009 vol. 73 p. 265 - 271

0025-1461

In this note, we provide new data of Graomys from a poorly known region in the Northern Argentinean Chaco. Our original data are based on mitochondrial DNA sequences obtained from specimens collected in the province of Formosa; comparison with the original descriptions of Graomys species and comparative morphometrics of our specimens with the 2n=42 and 2n=36-38 specimens from Central-Western Argentina. Our analyses indicate that the same species inhabit the northernmost and the southernmost portions of the Chaco biome. The fact that the two specimens from Formosa have different haplotypes, one closely related to the Central Argentina populations and the other related to the specimen from Bolivia, as well as the mention of a 2n=42 cytotype for specimens from Paraguay, reinforces the hypothesis of a Chacoan species in Graomys.