Evolutionary history of the Paradoxurus palm civets – a new model for Asian biogeography |
| |
Authors: | Marie‐Lilith Patou Andreas Wilting Philippe Gaubert Jacob A. Esselstyn Corinne Cruaud Andrew P. Jennings Jörns Fickel Géraldine Veron |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Unité Origine, Structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité, UMR CNRS MNHN 7205, Département Systématique et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 51, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France;2. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred‐Kowalke‐Strasse 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany;3. UMR BOREA IRD 207, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 23, 43 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France;4. Biodiversity Research Center and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA;5. Genoscope, Centre National de Séquen?age, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, CP5706, 91057 Evry Cedex, France |
| |
Abstract: | Aim Using molecular data and dental features, we investigated the genetic and morphological diversity among species of palm civets in the genus Paradoxurus, with a focus on the common palm civet, Paradoxurus hermaphroditus (Carnivora, Viverridae), in order to address biogeographic scenarios and provide recommendations for a taxonomic revision. Location Asia: Pakistan to the Lesser Sunda Islands. Methods We investigated the genetic diversity within Paradoxurus using two mitochondrial (cytochrome b, control region) and one nuclear (intron 7 of the β‐fibrinogen) markers. We used samples from 85 individuals of P. hermaphroditus (including 20 museum specimens) and one representative of each of the other species in the genus Paradoxurus: Paradoxurus jerdoni and Paradoxurus zeylonensis. DNA sequences were analysed using phylogenetic and haplotype network methods, and divergence dates were estimated for the clades retrieved. Furthermore, we examined dental characters from a large series of specimens and compared the morphological variation with the molecular data. Results Our phylogenetic analyses revealed that P. hermaphroditus is paraphyletic. We identified three major lineages distributed: (1) in the Indian subcontinent, south China, Hainan and in areas above 200 m in Indochina; (2) in Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Sumatra and in areas below 200 m in Indochina; and (3) in Borneo, the Philippines and the Mentawai archipelago. Our morphological observations were congruent with these three molecular lineages. Divergence date estimates inferred a Pliocene origin for Paradoxurus (2.8–5.7 Ma), with the three main clades diversifying from the mid–Early Pliocene to the end of the Pliocene. We suggest that the flooding of the Isthmus of Kra during the Pliocene was a major event shaping the diversification of Paradoxurus palm civets. We also hypothesize that the elevational segregation of the two lineages on the mainland could have resulted from the vegetational changes that were induced by Late Pliocene glacial episodes. Main conclusions The Isthmus of Kra is a major boundary between two major lineages of P. hermaphroditus. There is a need for a taxonomic revision for P. hermaphroditus, and we suggest that this species should be split into at least three species. |
| |
Keywords: | Asia biogeography glacial refugia Isthmus of Kra mammals molecular systematics palm civets Paradoxurus Viverridae |
|
|