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

POLJAK SEBASTIÁN; CONFALONIERI VIVIANA; FASANELLA MARIANA; GABRIELLI MAGALÍ; LIZARRALDE MARTA SUSANA

MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Año: 2010 vol. 55 p. 38 - 46

1055-7903

We report a phylogeographic study of Chaetophractus villosus populations in Argentina. Control Region (CR) sequences (484 bp) were obtained for 76 C. 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 (CRE) was revealed by Nested Clade Analysis (NCA) supported by mismatch analysis and Fu's test. The Pampean Region would have been the pre-expansion area, while Patagonia would have been the main dispersal route of contiguous expansion, possibly after the Pleistocenic glaciations.