Abstract
Phylogenetic relationships among South American sigmodontine rodents were examined based on the complete sequence for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene [1140 base pairs (bp)] for 66 species and between 759 and 1140 bp for an additional 19 species. Thirty-eight South American genera were represented, coming from eight of nine tribes. Outgroups included the North American murid rodents Peromyscus, Reithrodontomys, Scotinomys, and Neotoma, the Old World murine rodents Mus and Rattus, and the geomyoid genera Thomomys, Geomys, Dipodomys, and Perognathus as the most distant outgroup. The South American sigmodontines were supported as a monophyletic lineage. Within this radiation several clear-cut suprageneric groupings were identified. Many of the currently recognized tribal groupings of genera were found fairly consistently, although not always with high levels of bootstrap support. The various tribes could not be linked hierarchically with any confidence. In addition, several genera stand out as unique entities, without any apparent close relatives. The overall pattern suggests a rapid radiation of the sigmodontines in South America, followed by differentiation at the tribal and generic levels.
Similar content being viewed by others
LITERATURE CITED
Applied Biosystems, Inc. (1994). Sequence Navigator DNA and Protein Sequence Comparison Software, Perkin-Elmer Corp., Foster City, CA.
Baskin, J. A. (1978). Bensonomys, Calomys, and the origin of the phyllotine group of neotropical cricetines (Rodentia: Cricetidae). J. Mammal. 59: 125–135.
Beckman, K. B., Smith, M. F., and Orrego, C. (1993). Purification of mitochondrial DNA with Wizard Minipreps DNA purification system. Promega Notes 43: 10–13.
Bibb, M. J., Van Etten, R. A., Wright, C. T., Walberg, M. W., and Clayton, D. A. (1981). Sequence and gene organization of mouse mitochondrial DNA. Cell 26: 167–180.
Bonvicino, C. R., and Geise, L. (1995). Taxonomic status of Delomys dorsalis collinus Thomas, 1917 (Rodentia, Cricetidae) and description of a new karyotype. Z. Säugetierkunde 60: 124–127.
Braun, J. K. (1993). Systematic relationships of the tribe Phyllotini (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) of South America. Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. Norman.
Braun, J. K., and Mares, M. A. (1995). A new genus and species of phyllotine rodent (Rodentia: Muridae: Sigmodontinae: Phyllotini) from South America. J. Mammal. 76: 504–521.
Carleton, M. D. (1973). A survey of gross stomach morphology in New World Cricetinae (Rodentia, Muroidea), with comments on functional interpretations. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 146: 1–43.
Carleton, M. D. (1980). Phylogenetic relationships in neotomine-peromiscine (Muroidea) and a reappraisal of the dichotomy within New World Cricetinae. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 157: 1–146.
Catzeflis, F. M., Dickerman, A. W., Michaux, J., and Kirsch, J. A. W. (1993). DNA hybridization and rodent phylogeny. In: Mammalian Phylogeny: Placentals, F. S. Szalay, M. J. Novacek, and M. C. McKenna, eds., pp. 159–172, Springer-Verlag, New York.
de Santis, L. J. M., and Justo, E. R. (1980). Akodon (Abrothrix) mansoensis, sp. nov., un nuevo “ratón lanoso” de la Provincia de Rio Negro, Argentina (Rodentia, Cricetidae). Neotropica 26: 121–127.
Engel, S. R., Hogan, K. M., Taylor, J. F., and Davis, S. K. (1998). Molecular systematics and paleobiogeography of the South American sigmodontine rodents. Mol. Biol. Evol. 15: 35–49.
Felsenstein, J. (1978). Cases in which parsimony or compatibility methods will be positively misleading. Syst. Zool. 27: 401–410.
Felsenstein, J. (1981). Evolutionary trees from DNA sequences: A maximum likelihood approach. J. Mol. Evol. 17: 368–376.
Fonseca, G. A. B., and Kierulff, M. C. M. (1988). Biology and natural history of Brazilian Atlantic forest small mammals. Bull. Fla. State Mus. Biol. Sci. 34: 99–152.
Gadaleta, G., Pepe, G., deCandia, G., Quagliariello, C., Sbisa, E., and Saccone, C. (1989). The complete nucleotide sequence of the Rattus norvegicus mitochondrial genome: Cryptic signals revealed by comparative analysis between vertebrates. J. Mol. Evol. 28: 497–516.
Gardner, A. L., and Patton, J. L. (1976). Karyotypic variation in oryzomyine rodents (Cricetinae) with comments on chromosomal evolution in the neotropical cricetine complex. Occas. Papers Mus. Zool. LSU 49: 1–48.
Graybeal, A. (1998). Is it better to add taxa or characters to a difficult phylogenetic problem? Syst. Biol. 47: 9–17.
Hasegawa, M., Kishino, H., and Yano, T. (1985). Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA. J. Mol. Evol. 21: 160–174.
Hendy, M. D., and Penny, D. (1989). A framework for the quantitative study of evolutionary trees. Syst. Zool. 38: 297–309.
Hershkovitz, P. (1955). South American marsh rats, genus Holochilus, with a summary of sigmodont rodents. Fieldiana Zool. 37: 639–673.
Hershkovitz, P. (1959). Two new genera of South American rodents (Cricetinae). Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 72: 5–9.
Hershkovitz, P. (1962). Evolution of Neotropical cricetine rodents (Muridae) with special reference to the phyllotine group. Fieldiana Zool. 46: 1–524.
Hershkovitz, P. (1966). South American swamp and fossorial rats of the scapteromyine group (Cricetinae, Muridae) with comments on the glans penis in murid taxonomy. Z. Säugetierkunde 31: 81–149.
Hershkovitz, P. (1972). The recent mammals of the Neotropical region: A zoogeographic and ecological review. In: Evolution, Mammals, and Southern Continents, A. Keast, F. C. Erk, and B. Glass, eds., pp. 311–431, State University Press, Albany, NY.
Hershkovitz, P. (1993). A new central Brazilian genus and species of sigmodontine rodent (Sigmodontinae) transitional between akodonts and oryzomyines, with a discussion of muroid molar morphology and evolution. Fieldiana Zool. 75: 1–18.
Hershkovitz, P. (1998). Report on some sigmodontine rodents collected in southeastern Brazil with descriptions of a new genus and six new species. Bonn. Zool. Beitr. 47: 193–256.
Hillis, D. M. (1998). Taxonomic sampling, phylogenetic accuracy, and investigator bias. Syst. Biol. 47: 3–8.
Hills, D. M., and Huelsenbeck, J. P. (1992). Signal, noise, and reliability in molecular phylogenetic analyses. J. Hered. 83: 189–195.
Hillis, D. M., and Mable, B. K., and Moritz, C. (1996). Applications of molecular systematics: The state of the field and a look to the future. In: Molecular Systematics, D. M. Hillis, C. Moritz, and B. K. Mable, eds., pp. 515–543, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Hinojosa, F., Anderson, S., and Patton, J. L. (1987). Two new species of Oxymycterus (Rodentia) from Peru and Bolivia. Am. Mus. Novitates 2898: 1–17.
Hooper, E. T., and Musser, G. G. (1964). The glans penis in neotropical cricetines (family Muridae) with comments on classification of muroid rodents. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 123: 1–57.
Huelsenbeck, J. P., and Crandall, K. A. (1997). Phylogeny estimation and hypothesis testing using maximum likelihood. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 28: 437–466.
Irwin, D. M., Kocher, T. D., and Wilson, A. C. (1991). Evolution of the cytochrome b gene of mammals. J. Mol. Evol. 32: 128–144.
Jukes, T. H., and Cantor, C. R. (1969). Evolution of protein molecules. In: Mammalian Protein Molecules, H. N. Munro, ed., pp. 21–132, Academic Press, New York.
Kimura, M. (1980). A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J. Mol. Evol. 16: 111–120.
Kishino, H., and Hasegawa, M. (1989). Evaluation of the maximum likelihood estimate of the evolutionary tree topology from DNA sequence data, and the branching order in Hominoidea. J. Mol. Evol. 29: 170–179.
Kumar, S., Tamura, K., and Nei, M. (1993). MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis, Version 1.01, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Lansman, R. A., Shade, R. O., Shapira, J. F., and Avise, J. C. (1981). The use of restriction endonucleases to measure mitochondrial DNA sequence relatedness in natural populations. III. Techniques and potential applications. J. Mol. Evol. 17: 214–226.
Lara, M. C., Patton, J. L., and da Silva, M. N. F. (1996). The simultaneous diversification of South American echimyid rodents (Histricognathi) based on complete cytochrome b sequences. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 5: 403–413.
Lessa, E. P., and Cook, J. A. (1998). The molecular phylogenetics of tuco-tucos (genus Ctenomys, Rodentia: Octodontidae) suggests an early burst of speciation. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 9: 88–99.
Liascovich, R. C., Bárquez, R. M., and Reig, O. A. (1989). A karyological and morphological reassessment of Akodon (Abrothrix) illuteus Thomas. J. Mammal. 70: 386–391.
Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E. F., and Sambrook, J. (1982). Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
Marshall, L. G. (1979). A model for paleobiogeography of South American cricetine rodents. Paleobiology 5: 126–132.
Massoia, E., and Pardiñas, U. F. (1993). El estado sistematico de algunos muroideos estudiados por Ameghino en 1889. Revalidacion del genero Necromys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Cricetidae). Ameghiniana 30: 407–418.
Medrano, J. F., Aasen, E., and Sharrow, L. (1990). DNA extraction from nucleated red blood cells. Biotechniques 8: 43.
Musser, G. M., and Carleton, M. D. (1993). Family Muridae. In: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds., pp. 501–756, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Musser, G. G., Carleton, M. D., Brothers, E. M., and Gardner, A. L. (1998). Systematic studies of oryzomyine rodents (Muridae, Sigmodontinae): Diagnoses and distributions of species formerly assigned to Oryzomys “capito.” Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 236: 1–376.
Pardiñas, U. F. J., and Tonni, E. P. (1998). Procedencia estratigráfica y edad de los más antiguos muroideos (Mammalia, Rodentia) de América del Sur. Ameghiniana 35: 473–475.
Patterson, B., and Pascual, R. (1968). Evolution of mammals on southern continents. V. The fossil mammal fauna of South America. Q. Rev. Biol. 43: 409–451.
Patterson, B., and Pascual, R. (1972). The fossil mammal fauna of South America. In: Evolution, Mammals, and Southern Continents, A. Keast, F. C. Erk, and B. Glass, eds., pp. 247–309, State University Press, Albany, NY.
Patterson, B. D. (1992). A new genus and species of long-clawed mouse (Rodentia: Muridea) from temperate rainforests of Chile. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 106: 127–145.
Patterson, B. D., Gallardo, M. H., and Freas, K. E. (1984). Systematics of mice of the subgenus Akodon (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in southern South America, with the description of a new species. Fieldiana Zool. 23: 1–16.
Patton, J. L., and da Silva, M. N. F. (1995). A review of the spiny mouse genus Scolomys (Rodentia: Muridae: Sigmodontinae) with the description of a new species from the western Amazon of Brazil. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 108: 319–337.
Patton, J. L., dos Reis, S. F., and da Silva, M. N. F. (1996). Relationships among didelphid marsupials based on sequence variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene. J. Mammal. Evol. 3: 3–29.
Pearson, O. P., and Patton, J. L. (1976). Relationships among South American phyllotine rodents based on chromosome analysis. J. Mammal. 57: 339–350.
Pearson, O. P., and Smith, M. F. (1999). Genetic similarity between Akodon olivaceus and Akodon xanthorhinus (Rodentia, Muridae) in Argentina. J. Zool. Lond. 247: 43–52.
Pine, R. H. (1973). Una nueva especie de Akodon (Mammalia: Rodentia: Muridae) de la Isla de Wellington, Magallanes, Chile. Anal. Inst. Patagonia 4: 423–426.
Pine, R. H., Angle, J. P., and Bridge, D. (1978). Mammals from the sea, mainland and islands at the southern tip of South America. Mammalia 42: 105–114.
Rambaut, A., and Bromham, L. (1998). Estimating divergence dates from molecular sequences. Mol. Biol. Evol. 15: 442–448.
Reig, O. A. (1980). A new fossil genus of South American cricetid rodents allied to Wiedomys, with an assessment of the Sigmodontinae. J. Zool. Lond. 192: 257–281.
Reig, O. A. (1984). Distribuição geográphica e história evolutiva dos roedores muroides sulamericanos (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae). Revista Brasil. Genet. 7: 333–365.
Reig, O. A. (1986). Diversity patterns and differentiation of high Andean rodents. In: High Altitude Tropical Biogeography, F. Vuilleumier and M. Monasterio, eds., pp. 404–439, Oxford University Press, London.
Reig, O. A. (1987). An assessment of the systematics and evolution of the Akodontini, with the description of new fossil species of Akodon (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae). Fieldiana Zool. 39: 347–399.
Simpson, G. G. (1950). History of the fauna of Latin America. Am. Sci. 38: 361–389.
Simpson, G. G. (1969). South American mammals. In: Biogeography and Ecology in South America, E. J. Fittkau et al., eds., pp. 879–909, D. W. Junk N.V., The Hague.
Smith, M. F. (1998). Phylogenetic relationships and geographic structure in pocket gophers in the genus Thomomys. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 9: 1–14.
Smith, M. F., and Patton, J. L. (1991). Variation in mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence in natural populations of South American akodontine rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae). Mol. Biol. Evol. 8: 85–103.
Smith, M. F., and Patton, J. L. (1993). The diversification of South American murid rodents: Evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequence data for the akodontine tribe. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 50: 149–177.
Smith, M. F., Thomas, W. K., and Patton, J. L. (1992). Mitochondrial DNA-like sequence in the nuclear genome of an akodontine rodent. Mol. Biol. Evol. 9: 204–215.
Spotorno, A. E. (1986). Systematics and Evolutionary Relationships of Andean Phyllotine and Akodontine Rodents, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Berkeley.
Spotorno, A. E., Zuleta, C. A., and Cortes, A. (1990). Evolutionary systematics and heterochrony in Abrothrix species (Rodentia, Cricetidae). Evol. Biológica 4: 37–62.
Steppan, S. J. (1993). Phylogenetic relationships among the Phyllotini (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) using morphological characters. J. Mammal. Evol. 1: 187–213.
Steppan, S. J. (1995). Revision of the tribe Phyllotini (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae), with a phylogenetic hypothesis for the Sigmodontinae. Fieldiana Zool. 80: 1–112.
Steppan, S. J., and Pardiñas, U. F. J. (1998). Two new fossil muroids (Sigmodontinae: Phyllotini) from the early Pleistocene of Argentina: phylogeny and paleoecology. J. Vert. Paleo. 18: 640–649.
Sudman, P. D., and Hafner, M. S. (1992). Phylogenetic relationships among middle American pocket gophers (genus Orthogeomys) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 1: 17–25.
Swofford, D. L. (1998). PAUP*. Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (* and Other Methods), Version 4. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Swofford, D. L., Olsen, G. J., Waddell, P. J., and Hillis, D. M. (1996). Phylogenetic inference. In Molecular Systematics, D. M. Hills, C. Moritz, and B. K. Mable, eds., pp. 407–514, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Tribe, C. J. (1996). The Neotropical Rodent Genus Rhipidomys (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)—a Taxonomic Revision, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University College London.
Vorontzov, N. N. (1959). The system of hamster (Cricetinae) in the sphere of the world fauna and their phylogenetic relationships (in Russian). Biul. Moskovkogo Obshtschestea Ispitately Prirody Otdel Biol. 44: 134–137.
Voss, R. S. (1988). Systematics and ecology of ichthyomyine rodents (Muroidea): Patterns of morphological evolution in a small adaptive radiation. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 188: 259–493.
Voss, R. S. (1991a). On the identity of “Zygodontomys” punctulatus (Rodentia: Muroidea). Am. Mus. Novitates 3026: 1–8.
Voss, R. S. (1991b). An introduction to the Neotropical muroid rodent genus Zygodontomys. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 210: 1–113.
Voss, R. S. (1992). A revision of the South American species of Sigmodon (Mammalia: Muridae) with notes on their natural history and biogeography. Am. Mus. Novitates 3050: 1–56.
Voss, R. S. (1993). A revision of the Brazilian muroid rodent genus Delomys with remarks on “thomasomyine” characters. Am. Mus. Novitates 3073: 1–44.
Voss, R. S., and Carleton, M. D. (1993). A new genus for Hesperomys molitor Winge and Holochilus magnus Hershkovitz (Mammalia, Muridae) with an analysis of its phylogenetic relationships. Am. Mus. Novitates 3085: 1–39.
Voss, R. S., and Linzey, A. V. (1981). Comparative gross morphology of male accessory glands among Neotropical Muridae (Mammalia: Rodentia) with comments on systematic implications. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 159: 1–41.
Webb, S. D. (1978). A history of savanna vertebrates in the New World. Part II: South America and the great interchange. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 9: 393–426.
Webb, S. D. (1991). Ecogeography and the great American interchange. Paleobiology 17: 266–280.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, M.F., Patton, J.L. Phylogenetic Relationships and the Radiation of Sigmodontine Rodents in South America: Evidence from Cytochrome b . Journal of Mammalian Evolution 6, 89–128 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020668004578
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020668004578