Phylogenetic Relationships of the Dasyurid Marsupial Genus Murexia

Aim The mesic biome, encompassing both rain forest and open sclerophyllous forests, is central to understanding the evolution of Australia's terrestrial biota and has long been considered the ancestral biome of the continent. Our aims are to review and refine key hypotheses derived from palaeoclimatic data and the fossil record that are critical to understanding the evolution of the Australian mesic biota. We examine predictions arising from these hypotheses using available molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographical data. In doing so, we increase understanding of the mesic biota and highlight data deficiencies and fruitful areas for future research.Location The mesic biome of Australia, along the eastern coast of Australia, and in the south-east and south-west, including its rain forest and sclerophyllous, often eucalypt-dominated, habitats.Methods We derived five hypotheses based on palaeoclimatic and fossil data regarding the evolution of the Australian mesic biota, particularly as it relates to the mesic biome. We evaluated predictions formulated from these hypotheses using suitable molecular phylogenies of terrestrial plants and animals and freshwater invertebrates.Results There was support for the ancestral position of mesic habitat in most clades, with support for rain forest habitat ancestry in some groups, while evidence of ancestry in mesic sclerophyllous habitats was also demonstrated for some plants and herpetofauna. Contraction of mesic habitats has led to extinction of numerous lineages in many clades and this is particularly evident in the rain forest component. Species richness was generally higher in sclerophyllous clades than in rain forest clades, probably due to higher rates of net speciation in the former and extinction in the latter. Although extinction has been prominent in rain forest communities, tropical rain forests appear to have experienced extensive immigration from northern neighbours. Pleistocene climatic oscillations have left genetic signatures at multiple levels of divergence and with complex geographical structuring, even in areas with low topographical relief and few obvious geographical barriers.Main conclusions Our review confirms long-held views of the ancestral position of the Australian mesic biome but also reveals new insights into the complexity of the processes of contraction, fragmentation, extinction and invasion during the evolution of this biome.

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“…Murexia / Antechinus (Armstrong et al. , 1998; Krajewski et al. , 2007), Hypsiprymnodontidae (Burk et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decline of a biome: evolution, contraction, fragmentation, extinction and invasion of the Australian mesic zone biota

Byrne¹,

Steane²,

Joseph³

et al. 2011

Journal of Biogeography

357

351

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“…(1998) and Krajewski et al . (); also incorporates the additional species Murexia aspera .† Extinct. ‡Close to Dasyurus ( sensu Campbell, 1976a, b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Krajewski et al . (, , ) and Westerman, Young & Krajewski () subsequently explored genus‐level affinities within Dasyuridae via extended mitochondrial ( cytb , 12S rRNA , tRNA valine + 16S rRNA ) and nuclear [ ProtP1 , interphotoreceptor binding protein exon 1 ( IBRP ), and beta‐fibrinogen intron 7 ( bfib7 )] gene sequences. Their results variously confirmed the monophyly of the dasyurin genus Pseudantechinus (including Pseudantechinus bilarni ), the sister placement of Neophascogale + Phascolosorex (‘Phascolosoricinae’ sensu Archer, , ) and Dasyurus + Sarcophilus , as well as the close relationship between Dasycercus and Dasyuroides .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic relationships of dasyuromorphian marsupials revisited

et al. 2015

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We reassessed the phylogenetic relationships of dasyuromorphians using a large molecular database comprising previously published and new sequences for both nuclear (nDNA) and mitochondrial (mtDNA) genes from the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), most living species of Dasyuridae, and the recently extinct marsupial wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalus. Our molecular tree suggests that Thylacinidae is sister to Myrmecobiidae + Dasyuridae. We show robust support for the dasyurid intrafamilial classification proposed by Krajewski & Westerman as well as for placement of most dasyurid genera, which suggests substantial homoplasy amongst craniodental characters presently used to generate morphology-based taxonomies. Molecular dating with relaxed molecular clocks suggests that dasyuromorphian cladogenesis began in the Eocene, and that all three dasyuromorphian families originated prior to the end of this epoch. Radiation within Thylacinidae and Dasyuridae had occurred by the middle to late Oligocene, consistent with recognition of primitive thylacinids (e.g. Badjcinus turnbulli) in the later Oligocene and of putative dasyurids (e.g. Barinya wangala) by the early Miocene. We propose that all four extant dasyurid tribes were in existence by the early Miocene and that most modern dasyurid genera/species were established before the later Miocene. This is in marked contrast to the popularly accepted advocation of their origins in the latest Miocene-early Pliocene.

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“…We identified all the material and employed current taxonomic designations (see Helgen, 2007c and references cited there) with a few exceptions. We do not, for example, recognize Van Dyck's (2002) genus Murexechinus and employ the usage of Murexia, following Krajewski et al (2007). We also realize that future revisionary studies will modify some of the current names, reflecting new systematic revisionary work.…”

Section: Identification Of Bbm Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We either identified or verified determinations by other researchers of all the specimens and generally followed current taxonomy-published or reviews being prepared for publication (see Helgen, 2007c and references cited there) except for the following taxa. We use the marsupial genus Murexia for the species habbema, melanurus, and naso following Krajewski et al (2007) rather than the genera employed by Van Dyck (2002) for these species. Two rodents indicated as ''sp.''…”

Section: General Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%