Speciation Within the Genus Ctenomys: An Attempt to Find Models

Freitas, Thales Renato Ochotorena de

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-61679-3_3

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The most chromosomally diverse genera (such as Ctenomys, Oryzomys, Fukomys, Nannospalax, Ellobius , etc.) are highly specialized; underground habitations limit their dispersal and shape foraging, mating, and breeding patterns [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. The ranges of subterranean species are commonly represented as systems of isolated populations, which are characterized by high variability in the spatial genetic structure, small effective population sizes, low dispersal rates, high inbreeding, recurrent “bottleneck” events, limitations of genetic drift, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic Mosaic of Extensive Genetic Variations in Subterranean Mole Voles Ellobius alaicus as a Consequence of Habitat Fragmentation and Hybridization

Tambovtseva

Bakloushinskaya

Matveevsky

et al. 2022

Life

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Restricted mobility, sociality, and high inbreeding—characteristic for subterranean mammals—lead to rapid changes in their genome structure. Up to now, the Alay mole vole Ellobius alaicus was a data-deficient species; its spatial and phylogenetic relationships with a sibling species, E. tancrei, were not clarified. We carried out a genetic analysis including differential G-banding of chromosomes and mitochondrial (cytb) and nuclear gene (XIST and IRBP) sequencing. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on cytb represented the expected phylogenetic relationships of two species. Using the XIST, we revealed two new lineages among E. alaicus from the Alay Valley (Southern Kyrgyzstan). Analysis of IRBP demonstrated presence of the specific genotype in most of E. alaicus specimens, but also revealed the haplotype, typical for E. tancrei, in some Alay mole voles. The results may be explained as persistence of ancestral gene polymorphism in E. alaicus or limited interspecific hybridization with E. tancrei. Several chromosomal forms were revealed in E. alaicus in the Alay Valley. We propose that ‘mosaic’ genetic polymorphism might appear in E. alaicus due to fragmentation of their habitats in highlands of the Alay Valley, Tien Shan, and Pamir-Alay as well as due to hybridization with E. tancrei or persistence of ancestral polymorphisms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic Mosaic of Extensive Genetic Variations in Subterranean Mole Voles Ellobius alaicus as a Consequence of Habitat Fragmentation and Hybridization

Tambovtseva

Bakloushinskaya

Matveevsky

et al. 2022

Life

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“…talarum by Pardiñas (2001). They were interpreted as an independent lineage belonging to the mendocinus species group by De Santi et al (2018, 2021, Verzi et al (2021), andDe Santi (2022).…”

Section: Description and Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As pointed out by D' Elía et al (2021), the systematics of Ctenomys remains in a state of flux due to both intrinsic aspects of its evolutionary process and the patchy history of its study. Concerning the first factor, the very recent and accelerated diversification process of Ctenomys (De Santi et al 2021;Upham et al 2021) has resulted in evolving populations that are at different stages of morphological, genetic and/or ecological differentiation (review in Freitas 2021). Thus, species boundaries may often be difficult to define.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, remarkable morphological homogeneity is frequent even among long-standing differentiated species (D'Elía et al 2021). In such a still largely inconclusive scenario, however, major systematic and phylogenetic knowledge has been generated in just over two decades (e.g., Lessa and Cook 1998;D'Elía et al 1999;Mascheretti et al 2000;Slamovits et al 2001;Castillo et al 2005;Parada et al 2011;Gardner et al 2014;Bidau 2015;Freitas 2016Freitas , 2021Caraballo and Rossi 2018;Fornel et al 2018;Leipnitz et al 2020;Teta and D'Elía 2020;D'Elía et al 2021;De Santi et al 2021). One of the most significant advances is the recognition of informal groups of species based on increasingly well-supported clades (Parada et al 2011;Freitas et al 2012;Gardner et al 2014;Caraballo and Rossi 2018;Londoño-Gaviria et al 2018;Leipnitz et al 2020;De Santi et al 2020, 2021Carnovale et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because advances in the systematics of the genus Ctenomys have encompassed its diversity in a sectorized and disparate manner, the current taxonomic knowledge of Ctenomys remains uneven among species groups and geographic areas. While for some species or clades, their alpha taxonomy, phylogeny, and geographic variation are relatively well studied, others are known only through original descriptions, which are often insufficient for making taxonomic decisions (see reviews in Freitas 2021 andD'Elía et al 2021). In this context, the populations of Ctenomys distributed in the coastal area of central Argentina have been extensively studied through different approaches and disciplines, including alpha taxonomy and morphology (Thomas 1898(Thomas , 1912Rusconi 1934;Contreras and Reig 1965;Reig et al 1965Reig et al , 1990Contreras 1972;Vitullo et al 1988;De Santis et al 1998;Zenuto et al 2003;Justo et al 2003;Medina et al 2007;García Esponda et al 2009), cytogenetics and genetics (Kiblisky and Reig 1966;Massarini et al 1991Massarini et al , 1995Massarini et al , 2002Cutrera et al 2005), phylogeography (Mora et al 2006(Mora et al , 2010, ecology and behavior (Contreras and Reig 1965;Pearson et al 1968;Antinuchi and Busch 1992;Zenuto and Busch 1995;Zenuto and Fanjul 2002;Busch et al 2000;Justo et al 2003;Busch 2002a, 2002b;Cutrera et al 2006;Antinuchi et al 2007;Vassallo 2006), functional morph...…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new species of the highly polytypic South American rodent Ctenomys increases the diversity of the magellanicus clade

Verzi

Santi

Olivares

et al. 2023

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The subterranean rodent Ctenomys is the most polytypic South American mammal genus and one of the most speciose and rapidly diversifying mammal genera in the world. Its systematics is unstable due to the underlying accelerated diversification processes that give rise to evolutionary lineages at different stages of differentiation and to remarkable morphological homogeneity even among long-differentiated species. As a result, species boundaries are often difficult to define. Diversity of this genus in the coastal area of central Argentina has been extensively studied, with two independent lineages currently recognized while a distinct third population had not been previously detected. Through a phylogenetic analysis based on combined morphological and molecular evidence, Bayesian estimates of divergence times, and morphometric and morphological assessments, we recognize this third population as an independently evolving lineage. The new species, Ctenomys pulcersp. nov., is here described for both the living fauna and the fossil record of the Pampean region of central Argentina. According to phylogenetic results, Ctenomys pulcersp. nov. belongs to the essentially Patagonian magellanicus clade, and would have diverged from its sister species, Ctenomys bidaui, during the middle Pleistocene (ca. 0.4 Ma). Its current distribution in the fixed and semifixed dunes of the coastal Pampean region is assumed to represent a relict of a wider and continuous distribution of potentially suitable environments during the late Pleistocene. Ctenomys pulcersp. nov. occurs in a particularly fragile natural system subjected to profound disturbances caused by diverse anthropic actions and therefore measures for the conservation of its habitat will be indispensable.

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