Phylogeography,phylogeny, and taxonomical revision of the Midday jird (Meriones meridianus) species complex from Dzungaria |
| |
Authors: | Olga G Nanova Vladimir S Lebedev Vera A Matrosova Yansanjav Adiya Enkhbat Undrakhbayar Alexei V Surov Georgy I Shenbrot |
| |
Institution: | 1. Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia;2. Department of Structural and Functional Genomics, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;3. Institute of General and Experimental Biology of Mongolian Academy of Science, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia;4. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;5. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel |
| |
Abstract: | The Midday jird Meriones meridianussensu lato is a widely distributed and highly variable species complex, whose taxonomy is still controversial despite several genetic and morphological studies. Dzungaria is a crucial region for understanding the phylogeny and phylogeography of this species complex. In this work, the genetic variation of M. meridianus in Dzungaria and adjacent areas was studied based on mitochondrial (Cytb) and nuclear (BRCA1 and IRBP) genes. To compare morphological and genetic differentiation among lineages, craniological variation of the genotyped specimens was examined. Moreover, environmental data were used to estimate the most probable dispersal routes of M. meridianus clades in the studied area. Three clades of M. meridianus with interspecific level of differentiation were found and treated as distinct species: M. psammophilus (Milne-Edwards, 1871); M. meridianus (Pallas, 1773); and M. penicilliger (Heptner, 1933). The distribution ranges of all three species overlap in Dzungaria. According to the molecular data, M. psammophilus and M. meridianus are sister taxa that diverged ca. 500 kya, while M. penicilliger separated from the common ancestor of the other two lineages ca. 800 kya. These three species have significantly different cranial measurements. Moreover, traces of hybridization between M. psammophilus and M. meridianus were detected, but not between M. penicilliger and the other two species. Finally, the dispersal scenarios for M. psammophilus, M. meridianus, and M. penicilliger are herein discussed. It is suggested that M. meridianusand M. penicilligerindependently colonized Dzungaria from the west via Dzungarian gates. |
| |
Keywords: | Central Asian deserts Gerbillinae glacial cycles speciation species distribution modeling |
|
|