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Austrich A, Tomasco IH, Mapelli FJ, Kittlein MJ, Cutrera AP, Mora MS. Appearances are deceptive: a cryptic lineage within the assumed distributional boundaries of Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae). J Mammal 2023. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The coastal dunes of the southeast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, present two different described species of tuco-tucos: Ctenomys talarum and C. australis. Formerly, C. talarum was subdivided into three subspecies (C. t. talarum, C. t. recessus, and C. t. occidentalis), mainly based on its geographic distribution and phenotypic variation in characters of external morphology (e.g., body size and pelage color). This study assesses the phylogenetic relationships of C. talarum, focusing on the populations at the western end of its coastal distribution (localities of Pehuen-Có and Sauce Grande), which have been previously identified as highly genetically divergent. In this regard, populations distributed throughout the range of the species were sampled. Complete DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,140 bp), partial sequences of the mitochondrial D-loop region (426 bp), and partial sequences of the nuclear DNA intron 8 of the β-fibrinogen (about 870 bp) gene were used for the analyses. Phylogenetic inferences based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers were performed separately or combined to obtain a species tree. Populations distributed at the western end of the coastal dunes (between Pehuen-Có and Sauce Grande), previously assumed as C. talarum, were found to belong to an independent lineage relative to the other populations from the Pampas region. The average genetic distance between these two lineages is within the order of the genetic distances observed between different species of the genus. Also, our results show that this lineage of Ctenomys presents a high affinity with the magellanicus group, which is distributed further south, in Patagonia. In conclusion, tuco-tuco populations occurring in the coastal expanse between these two localities should be considered a possible distinct cryptic species, highly differentiated from C. talarum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ailin Austrich
- Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC, CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata , Dean Funes 3250, 3rd Floor, 7600 Mar del Plata , Argentina
| | - Ivanna Haydée Tomasco
- Departamento de Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República , Iguá 4225, Montevideo 11400 , Uruguay
| | - Fernando Javier Mapelli
- División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” CONICET , Angel Gallardo 470, Buenos Aires C1405DJR , Argentina
| | - Marcelo Javier Kittlein
- Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC, CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata , Dean Funes 3250, 3rd Floor, 7600 Mar del Plata , Argentina
| | - Ana Paula Cutrera
- Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC, CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata , Dean Funes 3250, 3rd Floor, 7600 Mar del Plata , Argentina
| | - Matías Sebastián Mora
- Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC, CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata , Dean Funes 3250, 3rd Floor, 7600 Mar del Plata , Argentina
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Carnovale CS, Fernández GP, Merino ML, Mora MS. Redefining the Distributional Boundaries and Phylogenetic Relationships for Ctenomids From Central Argentina. Front Genet 2021; 12:698134. [PMID: 34422000 PMCID: PMC8372524 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.698134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With about 68 recognized living species, subterranean rodents of the genus Ctenomys are found in a multiplicity of habitats, from the dunes of the Atlantic coast to the Andes Mountains, including environments ranging from humid steppes of Pampas to the dry deserts of Chaco region. However, this genus needs an exhaustive reevaluation of its systematic and phylogenetic relationships regarding the different groups that compose it. This knowledge is essential to propose biodiversity conservation strategies both at species level and at higher hierarchical levels. In order to clarify the taxonomy and the recent evolutionary history from populations of Ctenomys in the Pampas region, Argentina, phylogenetic relationships among them were evaluated using mitochondrial DNA sequences: gene encoding cytochrome b protein (1,140 bp) and the non-coding D-loop region (434 bp). To infer the divergence times inside the Ctenomys clade, a Bayesian calibrate tree using fossil remains data from different families within Caviomorpha was performed at first. Secondly, that calibration data was used as priors in a new Bayesian phylogenetic inference within the genus Ctenomys. This phylogenetic tree emphasized on species currently distributed on the Pampas region, more precisely considering both the talarum and mendocinus groups. Bayesian inferences (BI) were integrated with the results of a Maximum Likelihood approach (ML). Based on these results, the distributional limits of the mendocinus and talarum groups appear to be related to the physiognomy of the Pampas region soils. On the other hand, the validity of C. pundti complex as a differentiated species of C. talarum is debated. According to previous evidence from morphological and chromosomal studies, these results show a very low divergence between those species that originally were classified within the talarum group. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from populations associated with these putative species have not recovered as reciprocal monophyletic groups in the phylogenetic analyses. In conclusion, C. talarum and C. pundti complex might be considered as the same biological species, or lineages going through a recent or incipient differentiation process. The results obtained in this study have important implications for conservation policies and practices, since both species are currently categorized as Vulnerable and Endangered, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Soledad Carnovale
- Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (CeBio), Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNNOBA-CICBA) / Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires CITNOBA (UNNOBA-CONICET), Pergamino, Argentina
| | - Gabriela Paula Fernández
- Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (CeBio), Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNNOBA-CICBA) / Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires CITNOBA (UNNOBA-CONICET), Pergamino, Argentina
| | - Mariano Lisandro Merino
- Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (CeBio), Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNNOBA-CICBA) / Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires CITNOBA (UNNOBA-CONICET), Pergamino, Argentina.,Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CICBA), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Matías Sebastián Mora
- Grupo de Investigación: Ecología y Genética de Poblaciones de Mamíferos, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC, CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
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