BackgroundRodents of the genus Mus represent one of the most valuable biological models for biomedical and evolutionary research. Out of the four currently recognized subgenera, Nannomys (African pygmy mice, including the smallest rodents in the world) comprises the only original African lineage. Species of this subgenus became important models for the study of sex determination in mammals and they are also hosts of potentially dangerous pathogens. Nannomys ancestors colonized Africa from Asia at the end of Miocene and Eastern Africa should be considered as the place of their first radiation. In sharp contrast with this fact and despite the biological importance of Nannomys, the specimens from Eastern Africa were obviously under-represented in previous studies and the phylogenetic and distributional patterns were thus incomplete.ResultsWe performed comprehensive genetic analysis of 657 individuals of Nannomys collected at approximately 300 localities across the whole sub-Saharan Africa. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on mitochondrial (CYTB) and nuclear (IRBP) genes identified five species groups and three monotypic ancestral lineages. We provide evidence for important cryptic diversity and we defined and mapped the distribution of 27 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) that may correspond to presumable species. Biogeographical reconstructions based on data spanning all of Africa modified the previous evolutionary scenarios. First divergences occurred in Eastern African mountains soon after the colonization of the continent and the remnants of these old divergences still occur there, represented by long basal branches of M. (previously Muriculus) imberbis and two undescribed species from Ethiopia and Malawi. The radiation in drier lowland habitats associated with the decrease of body size is much younger, occurred mainly in a single lineage (called the minutoides group, and especially within the species M. minutoides), and was probably linked to aridification and climatic fluctuations in middle Pliocene/Pleistocene.ConclusionsWe discovered very high cryptic diversity in African pygmy mice making the genus Mus one of the richest genera of African mammals. Our taxon sampling allowed reliable phylogenetic and biogeographic reconstructions that (together with detailed distributional data of individual MOTUs) provide a solid basis for further evolutionary, ecological and epidemiological studies of this important group of rodents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0256-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction: In the recent decades, there has been growing interest in the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to livelihoods, development, and poverty alleviation among the rural populace. This has been prompted by the fact that communities living adjacent to forest reserves rely to a great extent on the NTFPs for their livelihoods, and therefore any effort to conserve such resources should as a prerequisite understand how the host communities interact with them. Methods: Multistage sampling technique was used for the study. A representative sample of 400 households was used to explore the utilization of NTFPs and their contribution to households' income in communities proximate to Falgore Game Reserve (FGR) in Kano State, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze and summarize the data collected.

Aim The rodent genus Gerbilliscus is widespread in savannas throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The eastern clade comprises four species with distributions centred in the Somali-Masai biogeographical region of East Africa. We investigated the genetic diversity of the group with a view to illuminating the historical (Plio-Pleistocene) processes that formed contemporary biota of the understudied Somali-Masai region.Location Somali-Masai savanna, East Africa. MethodsWe performed multilocus genetic analyses of 240 samples from 112 localities, combining genotyping of recently collected samples (N = 145), 454pyrosequencing of museum material (N = 34) and published sequences (N = 61). We used Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches for phylogenetic reconstructions, and coalescent-based methods to delimit species. We also estimated divergence times and modelled recent and past distributions to reconstruct the major evolutionary influences in the Somali-Masai region during the Plio-Pleistocene.Results Genetic analyses provided evidence for six lineages, possibly corresponding to distinct species. The two main species groups (with two and four putative species, respectively) have overlapping distributions, but species within each group are distributed parapatrically. The origin of the eastern clade dates back to the Pliocene, while individual species diverged in the Pleistocene. The distribution of genetic diversity and ecological niche modelling point to the importance of the Rift Valley and the presence of unsuitable xeric habitats in the allopatric diversification of Gerbilliscus in the Somali-Masai savanna within the last 5 Myr.Conclusions This is the first detailed phylo(bio-)geographical study of animals with predominant distribution in the Somali-Masai region. It revealed currently underestimated diversity of eastern clade of Gerbilliscus and proposed a scenario of its evolution during Plio-Pleistocene. Conspicuous genetic structure of these taxa can be now used to test detailed phylogeographical hypotheses related to Plio-Pleistocene history of gerbils and, to some extent, also biota of Somali-Masai bioregion in general.

Background Spiny mice of the genus Acomys are distributed mainly in dry open habitats in Africa and the Middle East, and they are widely used as model taxa for various biological disciplines (e.g. ecology, physiology and evolutionary biology). Despite their importance, large distribution and abundance in local communities, the phylogeny and the species limits in the genus are poorly resolved, and this is especially true for sub-Saharan taxa. The main aims of this study are (1) to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships of Acomys based on the largest available multilocus dataset (700 genotyped individuals from 282 localities), (2) to identify the main biogeographical divides in the distribution of Acomys diversity in dry open habitats in Afro-Arabia, (3) to reconstruct the historical biogeography of the genus, and finally (4) to estimate the species richness of the genus by application of the phylogenetic species concept. Results The multilocus phylogeny based on four genetic markers shows presence of five major groups of Acomys called here subspinosus, spinosissimus, russatus, wilsoni and cahirinus groups. Three of these major groups ( spinosissimus, wilsoni and cahirinus ) are further sub-structured to phylogenetic lineages with predominantly parapatric distributions. Combination of alternative species delimitation methods suggests the existence of 26 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs), potentially corresponding to separate species. The highest genetic diversity was found in Eastern Africa. The origin of the genus Acomys is dated to late Miocene ( ca. 8.7 Ma), when the first split occurred between spiny mice of eastern (Somali-Masai) and south-eastern (Zambezian) savannas. Further diversification, mostly in Plio-Pleistocene, and the current distribution of Acomys were influenced by the interplay of global climatic factors (e.g. , Messinian salinity crisis, intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation) with local geomorphology (mountain chains, aridity belts, water bodies). Combination of divergence dating, species distribution modelling and historical biogeography analysis suggests repeated “out-of-East-Africa” dispersal events into western Africa, the Mediterranean region and Arabia. Conclusions The genus Acomys is very suitable model for historical phylogeographic and biogeographic reconstructions of dry non-forested environments in Afro-Arabia. We provide the most thorough phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus and identify major factors that influenced its evolutionary history since the late Miocene. We also highlight the urgent need of integrative taxonomic revision of e...

2016). Evolutionary history and species diversity of African pouched mice (Rodentia: Nesomyidae: Saccostomus). -Zoologica Scripta, 45, 595-617. We explore diversity of African pouched mice, genus Saccostomus (Rodentia, Nesomyidae), by sampling molecular and morphological variation across their continental-scale distribution in southern and eastern African savannahs and woodlands. Both mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear DNA (IRBP, RAG1) as well as skull morphology confirm the distinction between two recognized species, S. campestris and S. mearnsi, with disjunct distribution in the Zambezian and Somali-Maasai bioregions, respectively. Molecular dating suggests the divergence of these taxa occurred in the Early Pliocene, 3.9 Ma before present, whereas the deepest divergences within each of them are only as old as 2.0 Ma for S. mearnsi and 1.4 Ma for S. campestris. Based on cytochrome b phylogeny, we defined five clades (three within S. campestris, two in S. mearnsi) whose species status was considered in the light of nuclear DNA markers and morphology. We conclude that S. campestris group consists of two subspecies S. campestris campestris (Peters, 1846; comprising two cytochrome b clades) and S. campestris mashonae (de Winton, 1897) that are moderately differentiated, albeit distinct in IRBP and skull form. They likely hybridize to a limited extent along the Kafue-Zambezi Rivers. Saccostomus mearnsi group consists of two species, S. mearnsi (Heller, 1910) and S. umbriventer (Miller, 1910), that are markedly differentiated in both nuclear markers and skull form and may possibly co-occur in south-western Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania. Analysis of historical demography suggests both subspecies of S. campestris experienced population expansion dated to the Last Glacial. In the present range of S. campestris group, the distribution modelling suggests a moderate fragmentation of suitable habitats during the last glacial cycle, whereas in the range of S. mearnsi group it predicts substantial shifts of its occurrence in the same period. Corresponding author: Ond rej Mikula, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Veve r ı 97, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic.