The Rufous Sengi is not Elephantulus —Multilocus reconstruction of evolutionary history of sengis from the subfamily Macroscelidinae

Abstract

The evolutionary history of sengis (Macroscelidea), an order of Afrotheria, has been studied in last decades by molecular phylogenetic approaches. These studies proposed an evolutionary scenario for this group of mammals and, surprisingly, revealed the presence of two new genera, delimited and described in the last five years. However, most research has relied solely upon samples from Southern Africa, while the genetic information from East Africa and the Zambezian region was only fragmentary. Here, we provide the most complete multilocus phylogeny of the subfamily Macroscelidinae, using new material mainly from eastern Africa, Zambia, and Angola. In agreement with previous studies, we confirmed the presence of two major radiations in the group, corresponding to recently defined tribes Macroscelidini and Elephantulini. Contrary to previous studies, however, we provide clear genetic evidence that the widespread East African Rufous Sengi (Elephantulus rufescens) belongs to the recently delimited genus Galegeeska. This finding is in agreement with morphological traits and with general biogeographical patterns in sub‐Saharan Africa. Revised divergence dating using a multispecies coalescent approach revealed much younger splits in Macroscelidea, compared with previous studies, with a majority of recent species appearing in the Plio–Pleistocene. The genus Galegeeska thus represents a typical mammalian genus of the Somali‐Masai bioregion and its current diversity (at least two recognized species, G. revoilii and G. rufescens) arose during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations, which is in agreement with other studies of small mammals in this region.

Position of the ammodile and the origin of Gerbillinae (Rodentia): Out of the Horn of Africa?

“…One can speculate that drastic climatic and hence environmental alterations have contributed to gerbils' diversification and flourishing. Notably, this period matches surprisingly well the time of basal diversification of another taxon of savannah animals: sengis of the subfamily Macroscelidinae, nowadays comprising 15 species in five genera (Krásová et al, 2021).…”

Biogeography of Angolan rodents: The first glimpse based on phylogenetic evidence

“…Numerous vertebrate species have been described as endemic or nearly endemic to Angola, although the precise number of Angolan endemics is difficult to estimate due to data deficiency and taxonomic ambiguities (Beja et al, 2019). Recently published studies have shown that especially the use of genetic material represents a valuable tool for identifying Angolan endemics and their phylogenetic position (Ceríaco, Agarwal et al, 2020;Ceríaco et al, 2018;Ceríaco, Tolley, et al, 2020;Hallermann et al, 2020;Krásová et al, 2021;Marques et al, 2019Marques et al, , 2020. The results presented in this study might serve as a starting point for a re-assessment of Angolan rodent fauna, including the level of endemism.…”

Cryptic diversity of Crocidura shrews in the savannahs of Eastern and Southern Africa

“…In this study, we genetically confirmed its occurrence in eastern (east of EAM) and southern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique (on both banks of the Zambezi River), Zambia (except the southwesternmost part, on the right bank of the Upper Zambezi River, where C. flavescens replaces it) and northern South Africa. The type localities in Angola and south-eastern DRC likely refer to this species (see more about this biogeographic pattern in Krásová et al [2021]). The southern limit of its distribution is not well-resolved, and the possible contact with C. flavescens should be studied with genetic approaches.…”