Phylogenetic relationships among cryptic species of the Phyllotis xanthopygus complex (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

OJEDA, A.A.; TETA, P.; JAYAT, J.P.; LANZONE, C.; CORNEJO, P.; NOVILLO, A.; OJEDA R.A.

ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2021

0300-3256

AbstractThe leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis xanthopygus (Waterhouse 1837) is a widely distributed sigmodontine rodent in South America, with populations ranging from centralPeru to southern Argentina and Chile. Previous morphological and molecular contributions have suggested that P. xanthopygus represents a species complex. In orderto characterize and disclose this cryptic species complex, we perform a moleculargenetic/phylogenetic analysis of representative samples across its geographical distribution. Phylogenetic analyses were based on sequences of cytochrome-b gene (801base pairs; n = 114 specimens) and analysed by maximum likelihood and Bayesianapproaches. We also employed a Bayesian implementation of the Poisson tree processes (bPTP) as a unilocus species delimitation method. Results from our phylogenetic analyses retrieve eight well-supported clades. Five of these clades belong topopulations known as P. xanthopygus s.l., which were paraphyletic to the closelyrelated species P. bonariensis, P. caprinus, and P. limatus, displaying strong geneticdivergences (>8%). The (bPTP) analyses recovered ten species within P. xanthopygus s.l. plus related forms (i.e. P. bonariensis, P. caprinus, and P. limatus). Ourresults, coupled with chromosomal and morphological evidences, support the recognition of these clades at the species level and provide a new framework to characterize the leaf-eared mice complex. Our study highlights the importance of integrativeapproaches in disentangling the biodiversity of Neotropical rodents.