Genetic differentiation pattern and evidence of an early speciation process in the genus Reithrodon (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae)

• Published in: Mammalian biology : Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde Vol. 103; no. 2; pp. 161 - 171
• Main Authors: Allgayer, Heloisa, Christoff, Alexandre Uarth, Peters, Felipe Bortolotto, de Oliveira Roth, Paulo Ricardo, de Assis Jardim, Márcia Maria, Valiati, Victor Hugo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2023; Springer
• Subjects: Analysis; Animal Anatomy; Animal Ecology; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Histology; Life Sciences; Morphology; Original Article; Phylogeny; Rodents; Zoology; Phylogenetic; Natural history
• ISSN: 1616-5047; 1618-1476
• DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00297-5

Sigmodontinae (Rodentia) is distributed mostly in South America and the Caribbean and is one of the largest New World mammal clades. Reithrodon (Waterhouse, Proc Zool Soc London 15–21, 27–32, 1837) is widely distributed in open areas of the Southern Cone of South America and includes two recognized species: R. auritus (G. Fischer 1814) and R. typicus (Waterhouse, Proc Zool Soc London 15–21, 27–32, 1837). However, the knowledge regarding the distribution limits of these species is scarce and this genus is one of the most poorly known, which hinders the recognition of biogeographical patterns and a better understanding of its diversification. This work aims to shed light on the genetic relationships within Reithrodon to understand the niche that each species occupies by means of spatial modeling and to elucidate the environments and the life history of R. typicus . The phylogenetic relationships and the species delimiters supported the existence of both species and the monophyly of the genus. However, within each species of the genus, we indicate two possible processes of early speciation. From genetic and species occurrence data, we discuss scenarios considering the distribution of the species in the genus, historical factors, and the influence of geographic isolation on the diversification of Reithrodon .