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The phylogenetic relationships of the Andean swamp rat genus Neotomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the phylogenetic position of the South American cricetid genus Neotomys using two molecular markers: one nuclear (Irbp) and one mitochondrial (mt-cyb). This genus is currently considered as incertae sedis in the Sigmodontinae radiation. The phylogenetic relationships were estimated using three approaches: Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and parsimony. We found the genus Neotomys closely related to the genera Euneomys and Irenomys, which are also considered incertae sedis. Our results suggest a common origin for this group of genera; this fact should be reflected in the taxonomy as a supra generic group with a tribal level. However, further and deeper analysis of both molecular and morphological data are needed to diagnose and formalize the proposed tribe. The relationships of this clade to the other members of Sigmodontinae were not clear as assessed by these data sets. The three genera are distributed around the Central and Southern Andes in South America evidencing that the Andes have played an important role in the diversification of several tribes of sigmodontine rodents.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to CONICET for the fellowship given to JJM and LIF and for the financial support through PIP CONICET 6197 to Ulyses F. J. Pardiñas and Rubén M. Barquez. We are also grateful to Noemí Gardenal for her kindness in providing lab infrastructure support. We thank two anonymous reviewers whose valuable comments improved considerably this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Av. Vélez Sarsfield 299, Córdoba, Argentina

    Juan J. Martínez

  2. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Argentina

    Juan J. Martínez

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Juan J. Martínez, Luis I. Ferro & Rubén M. Barquez

  4. Programa de Investigaciones de Biodiversidad Argentina (PIDBA), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

    Luis I. Ferro, Marcos I. Mollerach & Rubén M. Barquez

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  1. Juan J. Martínez
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  2. Luis I. Ferro
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  3. Marcos I. Mollerach
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  4. Rubén M. Barquez
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Correspondence to Juan J. Martínez.

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Communicated by: Mabel D. Giménez

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Martínez, J.J., Ferro, L.I., Mollerach, M.I. et al. The phylogenetic relationships of the Andean swamp rat genus Neotomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Acta Theriol 57, 277–287 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-011-0070-9

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