The Molecular Relationships of Possum and Glider Families as Revealed by Dna-Dna Hybridizations

Edwards, D J; Westerman, Michael

doi:10.1071/zo9950231

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Within the family Petuaridae, our results contrast recent molecular studies and previous morphological studies, in that the genus Gymnobelideus grouped with to the genus Dactylopsila to the exclusion of Petaurus (Smith, 1984; Aplin & Archer, 1987; Springer, Westerman & Kirsch, 1994; Meredith et al, 2010). These results are more in accordance with the molecular analysis of Edwards & Westerman (1995). Like a previous study (Meredith et al, 2010), we find strong support for the monophyly of the family Pseudocheiridae and three subfamilies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria)

May‐Collado

Kilpatrick

Agnarsson

2015

PeerJ

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Marsupials or metatherians are a group of mammals that are distinct in giving birth to young at early stages of development and in having a prolonged investment in lactation. The group consists of nearly 350 extant species, including kangaroos, koala, possums, and their relatives. Marsupials are an old lineage thought to have diverged from early therian mammals some 160 million years ago in the Jurassic, and have a remarkable evolutionary and biogeographical history, with extant species restricted to the Americas, mostly South America, and to Australasia. Although the group has been the subject of decades of phylogenetic research, the marsupial tree of life remains controversial, with most studies focusing on only a fraction of the species diversity within the infraclass. Here we present the first Methaterian species-level phylogeny to include 80% of the extant marsupial species and five nuclear and five mitochondrial markers obtained from Genbank and a recently published retroposon matrix. Our primary goal is to provide a summary phylogeny that will serve as a tool for comparative research. We evaluate the extent to which the phylogeny recovers current phylogenetic knowledge based on the recovery of “benchmark clades” from prior studies—unambiguously supported key clades and undisputed traditional taxonomic groups. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses recovered nearly all benchmark clades but failed to find support for the suborder Phalagiformes. The most significant difference with previous published topologies is the support for Australidelphia as a group containing Microbiotheriidae, nested within American marsupials. However, a likelihood ratio test shows that alternative topologies with monophyletic Australidelphia and Ameridelphia are not significantly different than the preferred tree. Although further data are needed to solidify understanding of Methateria phylogeny, the new phylogenetic hypothesis provided here offers a well resolved and detailed tool for comparative analyses, covering the majority of the known species richness of the group.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria)

May‐Collado

Kilpatrick

Agnarsson

2015

PeerJ

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“…Within the family Petuaridae our results contrast recent molecular studies and previous morphological studies, in that the genus Gymnobelideus grouped with to the genus Dactylopsila to the exclusion of Petaurus (Smith, 1984;Aplin & Archer, 1987;Springer et al, 1994;Meredith et al, 2010). These results are more in accordance with the molecular analysis of Edwards & Westerman (1995). Like a previous study (Meredith et al, 2010) we find strong support for the monophyly of the family Pseudocheiridae and three subfamilies.…”

Section: Phylogenetic Relationships Within Orderscontrasting

confidence: 51%

“…This family of Phalangeroidea contains pygmy possums Archer (1984) Barverstock et al, (1990, Edwards & Westerman (1995), Osborne & Christidis (2002), Beck (2008) Petauroidea This superfamily of Phalangeriformes Osborne et al, (2002), Amrine-Madsen et al., (2003), Kavanagh et al, 2004, Phillips & Pratt (2008), Meredith et al, (2010), Westerman et al, (2010).…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria) (v0.1)"

2015

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Marsupials or metatherians are a group of mammals that are distinct in giving birth to young at early stages of development and have prolonged investment in lactation. The group consists of nearly 350 extant species, including kangaroos, koala, possums, and their relatives. Marsupials are an old lineage thought to have diverged from early therian mammals some 160 million years ago in the Jurassic, and have a remarkable evolutionary and biogeographical history, with extant species restricted to the Americas, mostly South America, and to Australasia. Although the group has been the subject of decades of phylogenetic research the marsupial tree of life remains controversial, with most studies focusing on only a fraction of the species diversity within the infraclass. Here we present the first Methaterian species-level phylogeny including 80% of the extant marsupial species and five nuclear and five mitochondrial markers obtained from Genbank and a recently published retroposon matrix. Our primary goal is to provide a summary phylogeny that will serve as a tool for comparative research. We evaluate the extent to which the phylogeny recovers current phylogenetic knowledge based on the recovery of "benchmark clades" from prior studies-unambiguously supported key clades and undisputed traditional taxonomic groups. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses recovered nearly all benchmark clades but failed to find support for the suborder Phalagiformes. The most significant difference with previous published topologies is the support for Australidelphia as a group containing Microbiotheriidae, nested within American marsupials. However, a likelihood ratio test shows that alternative topologies with monophyletic Australidelphia and Ameridelphia are not significantly different than the preferred tree. Although, further data are needed to solidify understanding of Methateria phylogeny, the new phylogenetic hypothesis provided here offers a well resolved and detailed tool for comparative analyses, covering the majority of the known species richness of the group.

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“…mtDNA was unable to resolve the relationships of these genera within the sub-family macropodinae, but Flannery (1989) suggests a close interrelationship among Macropus, Onychogalea and Lagorchestes. The relationships of Burramys, Acrobates and Tarsipes follow Edwards and Westerman's (1995) DNA hybridization study. Placement of Petropseudes, Ailurops and Wyulda follow Flannery (1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny and the selectivity of extinction in Australian marsupials

Johnson

Delean

Balmford

2002

Animal Conservation

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Recent studies have suggested that contemporary losses of species are unevenly distributed over phylogenies. Here, we show that species of Australian marsupials are at higher risk if they belong to genera that are species-poor, old or phylogenetically distinct. Extinction risk in this group is also related to habitat and body size, being higher for species from non-forested habitats and of intermediate body size. We tested the extent to which the phylogenetic selectivity of extinction was explained by this ecological pattern. We found that while genus size and distinctiveness explain no variation in extinction risk that is not accounted for by habitat and body size, there is a significant residual association of genus age with extinction risk. This suggests that while species in small and distinctive genera are at high risk because they are overrepresented in non-forested habitats and intermediate body size classes, species in old genera are at higher risk over the range of body sizes and habitats and may be intrinsically vulnerable to extinction.

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The Molecular Relationships of Possum and Glider Families as Revealed by Dna-Dna Hybridizations

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria)

Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria)

Peer Review #2 of "Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria) (v0.1)"

Phylogeny and the selectivity of extinction in Australian marsupials

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