Phylogenetic relations and range history of jerboas of the Allactaginae subfamily (Dipodidae, Rodentia)

Five-toed jerboas of the subfamily Allactaginae comprise several complex taxa occurring over a wide distribution range covering a large part of the Eurasian arid belt. In this study, we employed current methods of molecular phylogenetics based on 15 nuclear genes and the mitochondrial gene cytb to revise relations and systematics within Allactaginae. We also applied species distribution modelling projected on paleo-environmental data to reconstruct the geographic patterns of speciation in Allactaginae. We elucidated the intergeneric relationships within this subfamily and clarifed interspecies relations within the genus Scarturus. Moreover, our results demonstrate the species status of S. caprimulgaoutline the currently understudied diversity within Orientallactaga, Allactaga, and Pygeretmusand improve the divergence estimates of these taxa. Based on our results from modelling of geographic range fragmentation in allactagines, we suggest the dating and location of speciation events and present hypotheses regarding general habitat niche conservatism in small mammals

A Molecular Phylogeny of <i>Stylodipus</i> (Dipodidae, Mammalia): A Small Genus with a Complex History

A range-wide phylogenetic/phylogeographic study of the three-toed jerboas of the genus Stylodipus is conducted using the mitochondrial cytb gene and fragments of several nuclear genes. The genus has been believed to include three species: S. telum (W Central Asia, SE Europe), S. andrewsi (E Central Asia), and S. sungorus (Dzungar basin). Our data support the dichotomy between S. andrewsi and the other taxa forming S. telum species group. Within the latter, both mtDNA and nuclear loci indicate a species-level divergence between S. telum and the S. t. birulae lineage (Zaisan depression, NE Kazakhstan), previously considered a subspecies of S. telum and here elevated to full species. S. sungorus is recovered as a close sister group to S. birulae on the basis of nuclear data but clustered with S. telum in the mitochondrial tree. The latter taxon is the most variable and includes two closely related eastern and western sublineages, separated by the Volga-Ural sands and joined by a more divergent S. t. karelini lineage (E Kazakhstan). The observed mitonuclear discordance is hypothesized to occur due to mtDNA introgression resulting from hybridization between S. sungorus and S. t. karelini, which highlights the important role of reticulations in the evolution of Dipodidae