Phylogeography, phylogeny, and taxonomical revision of the Midday jird (Meriones meridianus) species complex from Dzungaria

Abstract

The Midday jird Meriones meridianussensu lato is a widely distributed and highly variable species complex, whose taxonomy is still controversial despite several genetic and morphological studies. Dzungaria is a crucial region for understanding the phylogeny and phylogeography of this species complex. In this work, the genetic variation of M. meridianus in Dzungaria and adjacent areas was studied based on mitochondrial (Cytb) and nuclear (BRCA1 and IRBP) genes. To compare morphological and genetic differentiation among lineages, craniological variation of the genotyped specimens was examined. Moreover, environmental data were used to estimate the most probable dispersal routes of M. meridianus clades in the studied area. Three clades of M. meridianus with interspecific level of differentiation were found and treated as distinct species: M. psammophilus (Milne‐Edwards, 1871); M. meridianus (Pallas, 1773); and M. penicilliger (Heptner, 1933). The distribution ranges of all three species overlap in Dzungaria. According to the molecular data, M. psammophilus and M. meridianus are sister taxa that diverged ca. 500 kya, while M. penicilliger separated from the common ancestor of the other two lineages ca. 800 kya. These three species have significantly different cranial measurements. Moreover, traces of hybridization between M. psammophilus and M. meridianus were detected, but not between M. penicilliger and the other two species. Finally, the dispersal scenarios for M. psammophilus, M. meridianus, and M. penicilliger are herein discussed. It is suggested that M. meridianusand M. penicilligerindependently colonized Dzungaria from the west via Dzungarian gates.

Morphological, biometric and taphonomic analyses of Holocene gerbils from Guenfouda (Eastern Morocco) and first mention ofGerbillus henleyiin a fossil record

“…The systematics, phylogeny and phylogeography of the current Gerbillinae have undergone a significant development in recent years (e.g., Chevret and Dobigny 2005;Pavlinov 2008;Abiadh et al 2010;Ito et al 2010;Ndiaye et al 2012Ndiaye et al , 2016Aghova et al 2017;Alhajeri 2018;Nanova et al 2020;Bryja et al 2022). However, there is still no consensus on the position of some taxa such as Dipodillus, which is, according to the authors, considered as a synonym of Gerbillus (e.g., Chevret and Dobigny 2005), a separate genus (e.g., Musser and Carleton 2005;Pavlinov 2008) or a sub-genus of Gerbillus (e.g., Abiadh et al 2010;Nicolas et al 2014;Alhajeri et al 2015).…”

Genetic Structure and Population History of the Zaisan Toad-Headed Agama (Phrynocephalus melanurus) Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA

“…The formation of the sandy deserts and the Tianshan Mountains has played a crucial role in diversifying the regional environmental conditions [17]. This complex landscape has shaped rich biodiversity and makes the area an ideal system for examining species evolution from a phylogeographic perspective [18][19][20][21].…”

“…As such, plant phylogeographic studies in arid Northwest China have gained broad prominence [22][23][24]; however, animal phylogeographic studies, particularly those of lizards, are still relatively limited [8,11,21,25]. In fact, lizards are useful for studying the effects of environmental and geological conditions on phylogeographic structure due to their lower dispersal abilities, and susceptibility to climate fluctuations [26,27].…”

Genetic Structure and Population History of the Zaisan Toad-Headed Agama (Phrynocephalus melanurus) Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA COI Segments

“…The formation of the sandy deserts and the Tianshan Mountains plays a crucial role in diversifying the regional environmental conditions [17]. This complex landscape has shaped rich biodiversity and makes the area an ideal system for examining species evolution under a phylogeographic perspective [18][19][20][21].…”

“…As such, plant phylogeographic studies in arid Northwest China have sprung up like mushrooms after rain [21][22][23]. However, animal phylogeographic studies, particularly those of lizards are still limited [8,11,25].…”