An update on the distribution and diversification of Rhabdomys sp. (Muridae, Rodentia)

Ganem, Guila; Dufour, Claire; Avenant, Nico L.; Caminade, Pierre; Eiseb, Seth J.; Tougard, Christelle; Pillay, Neville

doi:10.25225/jvb.20013

Cited by 12 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…There are contact zones between the R. pumilio, R. bechuanae and R. intermedius that have been identified in the Free State at Sandveld (Ganem et al 2012;du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020); and at Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape (du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020). Other contact zones for R. d. chakae and R. d. dilectus are described from the northern Gauteng Province (Le Grange et al 2015, Ganem et al 2020. Altogether, fifteen contact zones for Rhabdomys have been documented in South Africa (Ganem et al 2020), and while one of these has been identified in the vicinity of the Eastern Cape Province in Fort Beaufort, this has been based on limited sampling despite the species being known to occur there.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Its distribution includes forest edges, where it is a pioneer species following forest clearances (Castley 1997). Rhabdomys is considered a species com-somal data (Rambau et al 2003;du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020). Of these, R. pumilio and R. dilectus were the first to be recognized based on chromosomal work combined with molecular data (Rambau et al 2003), with the latter further divided into two subspecies R. d. chakae and R. d. dilectus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subsequently, further molecular analyses retrieved three paraphyletic lineages of R. pumilio and two monophyletic lineages of R. dilectus, each with distinct geographical distributions (du Toit et al 2012). Two of these paraphyletic lineages of R. pumilio have been referred to as R. bechuanae and R. intermedius (Ganem et al 2020). There are contact zones between the R. pumilio, R. bechuanae and R. intermedius that have been identified in the Free State at Sandveld (Ganem et al 2012;du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020); and at Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape (du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two of these paraphyletic lineages of R. pumilio have been referred to as R. bechuanae and R. intermedius (Ganem et al 2020). There are contact zones between the R. pumilio, R. bechuanae and R. intermedius that have been identified in the Free State at Sandveld (Ganem et al 2012;du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020); and at Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape (du Toit et al 2012;Ganem et al 2020). Other contact zones for R. d. chakae and R. d. dilectus are described from the northern Gauteng Province (Le Grange et al 2015, Ganem et al 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other contact zones for R. d. chakae and R. d. dilectus are described from the northern Gauteng Province (Le Grange et al 2015, Ganem et al 2020. Altogether, fifteen contact zones for Rhabdomys have been documented in South Africa (Ganem et al 2020), and while one of these has been identified in the vicinity of the Eastern Cape Province in Fort Beaufort, this has been based on limited sampling despite the species being known to occur there. It remains unclear whether the Eastern Cape population is an extension of R. pumilio, which typically occurs in the southern parts of Eastern Cape Province, or R. dilectus (specifically R. d. chakae), which is associated with most sampled parts of the Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal provinces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

Matamba¹,

Richards²,

Cherry³

et al. 2021

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South African small mammals are under-represented in DNA barcoding efforts, particularly from the eastern forested regions of the country. This study reports DNA barcoding of Rhabdomys taxa from previously unsampled parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was sequenced for 101 Rhabdomys sp. individuals from 16 localities from all three main forest groups (coastal, mistbelt, and scarp forests). Molecular data were supplemented with external morphological measurements, including those deemed potential taxonomically diagnostic characters. Findings indicate the area to be inhabited solely by Rhabdomys dilectus chakae. Haplotypes distributed across the three forest groups were separated by shallow sequence divergences ranging from 0.001–0.015 (Kimura 2-parameter model) and displayed very little population genetic structure (FST= 0.071787). Morphological data revealed some regional metric differences in external morphology, but all the head-and-body to tail (HB: tail) ratios match that of R. d. chakae, and consequently, molecular and morphological data are congruent. These data confirm a range extension of R. d. chakae, supporting the utility of COI barcodes in the identification of small mammalian species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

Matamba¹,

Richards²,

Cherry³

et al. 2021

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Social recognition and short‐term memory in two taxa of striped mouse with differing social systems

Neves

Pillay

2022

J Exp Zool Pt A

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The ability to distinguish between familiar and strange conspecifics is important in group-living animals and influences the types of interactions between conspecifics.Social systems differ in sister taxa of the striped mouse genus Rhabdomys originating from different environments. Xeric-adapted R. pumilio displays facultative group-living whereas the mesic-adapted R. d. chakae is solitary. We assessed social recognition and attraction to strangers in females of two populations each of R. pumilio and R. d. chakae by means of a social discrimination task. We used a three-chamber apparatus developed in an established protocol and measured the latency of test females to approach and the duration of their investigation of stimulus females. Differences in social recognition of and preference for unfamiliar conspecifics in group-living and solitary-living taxa occurred at the taxon-level, even though constituent populations occurring kilometers apart showed similar responses. Females differed in the latency (testing phase) and duration of investigation (familiarization and testing phases) inter-specifically but not intra-specifically. Female R. pumilio approached stimulus females faster than female R. d. chakae. Female R. pumilio also investigated stimulus females for longer, regardless of stimulus type compared to R. d. chakae, but both taxa spent more time investigating familiar females than novel females and approached the familiar females faster than novel females. Social recognition, short-term memory, and social preference do not appear to differ between closely related taxa and differences in behavior between the two taxa might be related to inherent personality and social proclivity.

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Variation in brain volume in nine populations and three taxa of the African striped mouse Rhabdomys

Neves

Pillay

2022

Journal of Morphology

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Brain size can vary between populations in different environments because of different selection pressures on behaviours, such as learning and memory, related to spatial, social and environmental differences. We investigated the variation in total and broad‐scale regional brain size in the murid rodent genus Rhabdomys from different environments. We assessed taxon‐, population‐ and sex‐level differences in total and regional brain volume in three populations each of three taxa (arid‐occurring Rhabdomys pumilio and mesic‐occurring Rhabdomys dilectus chakae and R. d. dilectus) originating across southern Africa. We μCT‐scanned crania obtained from museums in South Africa and used digital software to create endocasts and extract total endocranium and regional volumes: olfactory bulb, anterior cerebrum, posterior cerebrum, cerebellum volume and petrosal volume. Total endocranial volume scaled with basal skull length and all‐region volumes scaled with total endocranial volume. We found taxon‐, and population‐level differences in total endocranial volume. Relative anterior and posterior cerebrum volume did not differ significantly between taxa or populations, but relative cerebellum volume was larger in arid populations than mesic populations. Relative olfactory bulb volume was larger in mesic R. dilectus than in the R. pumilio, but petrosal lobule volume was larger in R. pumilio populations than in R. dilectus. Males had larger total endocranial volumes than females. Drivers of larger total endocranial volumes in R. pumilio are not immediately clear from our results. Environmental seasonality of food availability, cognitive buffering and locomotion may all correlate with total endocranial volume size, whereas the influence of sociality cannot be excluded. The environment and degree of semi‐arboreality are likely driving variation in cerebellum, olfactory bulb and petrosal lobule volumes.

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An update on the distribution and diversification of Rhabdomys sp. (Muridae, Rodentia)

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

Social recognition and short‐term memory in two taxa of striped mouse with differing social systems

Variation in brain volume in nine populations and three taxa of the African striped mouse Rhabdomys

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