Dataset Information

Who are you, Griselda? A replacement name for a new genus of the Asiatic short-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities.

ABSTRACT: The first genetic study of the holotype of the Gansu short-tailed shrew, Blarinella griselda Thomas, 1912, is presented. The mitochondrial analysis demonstrated that the type specimen of B. griselda is close to several recently collected specimens from southern Gansu, northern Sichuan and Shaanxi, which are highly distinct from the two species of Asiatic short-tailed shrews of southern Sichuan, Yunnan, and Vietnam, B. quadraticauda and B. wardi. Our analysis of four nuclear genes supported the placement of B. griselda as sister to B. quadraticauda / B. wardi, with the level of divergence between these two clades corresponding to that among genera of Soricinae. A new generic name, Parablarinella, is proposed for the Gansu short-tailed shrew. Karyotypes of Parablarinella griselda (2n = 49, NFa = 50) and B. quadraticauda (2n = 49, NFa = 62) from southern Gansu are described. The tribal affinities of Blarinellini and Blarinini are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Bannikova AA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6861342 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Who are you, Griselda? A replacement name for a new genus of the Asiatic short-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities.

Bannikova Anna A AA Jenkins Paulina D PD Solovyeva Evgeniya N EN Pavlova Svetlana V SV Demidova Tatiana B TB Simanovsky Sergey A SA Sheftel Boris I BI Lebedev Vladimir S VS Fang Yun Y Dalen Love L Abramov Alexei V AV

ZooKeys 20191111

The first genetic study of the holotype of the Gansu short-tailed shrew, Blarinella griselda Thomas, 1912, is presented. The mitochondrial analysis demonstrated that the type specimen of B. griselda is close to several recently collected specimens from southern Gansu, northern Sichuan and Shaanxi, which are highly distinct from the two species of Asiatic short-tailed shrews of southern Sichuan, Yunnan, and Vietnam, B. quadraticauda and B. wardi. Our analysis of four n ...[more]

PMID: 31754323

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Crocidura, the most speciose mammalian genus, occurs across much of Asia, Europe and Africa. The taxonomy of Chinese representatives has been studied primarily based on cursory morphological comparisons and their molecular phylogenetic analyses remain unexplored. In order to understand the phylogeny of this group in China, we estimated the first multilocus phylogeny and conducted species delimitation, including taxon sampling throughout their distribution range. RESULTS:We obtained one mitochondrial gene (cytb) (~?1, 134?bp) and three nuclear genes (ApoB, BRCA1, RAG1) (~?2, 170?bp) for 132 samples from 57 localities. Molecular analyses identified at least 14 putative species that occur within two major well-supported groups in China. Polyphyletic C. wuchihensis appears to be composed of two putative species. Two subspecies, C. rapax rapax and C. rapax kurodai should be elevated to full species status. A phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial gene from Asian Crocidura species showed that the C. rapax rapax is embedded within C. attenuata, making the latter a paraphyletic group. Three strongly supported undescribed species (C. sp.1, C. sp.2 and C. sp.3) are revealed from Zada County of Tibet (Western China), Hongjiang County of Hunan Province (Central China) and Dongyang County of Zhejiang Province (Eastern China), Motuo County of Tibet, respectively. The divergence time estimation suggested that China's Crocidura species began to diversify during the late Pliocene (3.66?Ma) and the Early Pleistocene (2.29?Ma), followed by a series of diversifications through the Pleistocene. CONCLUSIONS:The cryptic diversity found in this study indicated that the number of species is strongly underestimated under the current taxonomy. We propose that the three undescribed species should be evaluated using extensive taxon sampling and comprehensive morphological and morphometric approaches. Climate change since the late Pliocene and the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau may result in the diversification and speciation of China's Crocidura species. In short, the underestimated diversity underlines the need for a taxonomic revision of Chinese Crocidura species.

Project description:The regionalization of the mammalian spinal column is an important evolutionary, developmental, and functional hallmark of the clade. Vertebral column regions are usually defined using transitions in external bone morphology, such as the presence of transverse foraminae or rib facets, or measurements of vertebral shape. Yet the internal structure of vertebrae, specifically the trabecular (spongy) bone, plays an important role in vertebral function, and is subject to the same variety of selective, functional, and developmental influences as external bone morphology. Here, we investigated regionalization of external and trabecular bone morphology in the vertebral column of a group of shrews (family Soricidae). The primary goals of this study were to: (1) determine if vertebral trabecular bone morphology is regionalized in large shrews, and if so, in what configuration relative to external morphology; (2) assess correlations between trabecular bone regionalization and functional or developmental influences; and (3) determine if external and trabecular bone regionalization patterns provide clues about the function of the highly modified spinal column of the hero shrew Scutisorex. Trabecular bone is regionalized along the soricid vertebral column, but the configuration of trabecular bone regions does not match that of the external vertebral morphology, and is less consistent across individuals and species. The cervical region has the most distinct and consistent trabecular bone morphology, with dense trabeculae indicative of the ability to withstand forces in a variety of directions. Scutisorex exhibits an additional external morphology region compared to unmodified shrews, but this region does not correspond to a change in trabecular architecture. Although trabecular bone architecture is regionalized along the soricid vertebral column, and this regionalization is potentially related to bone functional adaptation, there are likely aspects of vertebral functional regionalization that are not detectable using trabecular bone morphology. For example, the external morphology of the Scutisorex lumbar spine shows signs of an extra functional region that is not apparent in trabecular bone analyses. It is possible that body size and locomotor mode affect the degree to which function is manifest in trabecular bone, and broader study across mammalian size and ecology is warranted to understand the relationship between trabecular bone morphology and other measures of vertebral function such as intervertebral range of motion.

Dataset Information

Who are you, Griselda? A replacement name for a new genus of the Asiatic short-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities.

Publications

Who are you, Griselda? A replacement name for a new genus of the Asiatic short-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities.

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