Evolutionary and systematic relationships among tuco-tucos of the Ctenomys pundti complex (Rodentia: Octodontidae): a cytogenetic and morphological approach
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Sergio I. Tiranti
We present new cytogenetic, morphometric, and sperm morphology data of eight populations belonging to the C. pundti complex from Southern Córdoba and Eastern La Pampa Provinces in Argentina. The diploid numbers ranged from 2n = 44 to 2n = 50, and C- bands revealed a pattern of centromeric and pericentromeric heterochromatin. Comparisons of G-banded karyotypes revealed that the 2n = 44 (Holmberg, Santa Catalina, Sampacho), 2n = 46 (Realicó), 2n = 48 (El Guanaco, Guatraché), 2n = 46-48 (Vicuña Mackenna), and 2n = 50 (Puente Olmos) karyotypes, are closely related. In addition, these karyotypes show a high degree of homology (95%) with C. talarum talarum, despite the fact that five chromosomal rearrangements differentiate both taxa. Discriminant Function Analysis of morphometric data allows to distinguish three clusters: i) the C. mendocinus species group, ii) C. t. talarum, and iii) populations of the C. pundti complex proposed herein. The close phylogenetic relationship between C. talarum and the C. pundti complex, which undoubtedly belong to the same evolutionary lineage, is well supported by two different kinds of evidence: the extensive chromosomal homology and the same symmetric type of sperm. The morphological and chromosomal differences show that these two forms have diverged recently.
Copyright 2005, Walter de Gruyter
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Articles in the same Issue
- Location and habitat characteristics of the breeding nests of the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) in the reed-beds of an intensively used farmland
- Spatial ecology and diet of the dhole Cuon alpinus (Canidae, Carnivora) in north central Thailand
- Spatial and temporal variability of bat foraging in a western European low mountain range forest
- Assessment of the potential for negative interaction between re-introduced elk (Cervus elaphus) and resident white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in their wintering areas in Ontario, Canada
- Dietary intake and time budget in two desert rodents: a diurnal herbivore, Psammomys obesus, and a nocturnal granivore, Meriones crassus
- Evolutionary and systematic relationships among tuco-tucos of the Ctenomys pundti complex (Rodentia: Octodontidae): a cytogenetic and morphological approach
- Preliminary investigation into the presence and distribution of small carnivores in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia through the use of a camera trap
- Annual food habits of the lesser grison (Galictis cuja) at the southern limit of its range
- The diet of the badger Meles meles (Mustelidae, Carnivora) on the Apennines (Central Italy)
- The incidence of Botfly parasitism in small mammals near White River, Ontario, Canada
- The genus Oecomys (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae) in Argentina
- New records on the geographic distribution of bat species in the Brazilian Amazonia
