Phylogeny of genus Spermophilus and position of Alashan ground squirrel (Spermophilus alashanicus, Büchner, 1888) on phylogenetic tree of Paleartic short-tailed ground squirrels

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships within a group of Paleartic short tailed ground squirrels (Spermophi lus), recently defined as genus, are not sufficiently clear and need a critical revision. Interspecies hybridiza tion, found in Eurasian Spermophilus, can affect the results of reconstruction of molecular phylogeny. Alas han ground squirrel position on the phylogenetic tree needs clarification. We analyzed eight nucleotide sequences of cytb gene of S. alashanicus and 127 sequences of other Spermophilus species form GenBank. S. alashanicus and S. dauricus close phylogenetic relationship, and their affinity to ancestral forms of the group are revealed. Monophyly of Colobotis subgenus was confirmed. Paraphyly of eastern and western forms of S. relictus was shown.

Phylogeography of the pallid ground squirrel (Spermophilus pallidicaudaSatunin, 1903) as a consequence of Holocene changes in the Mongolian steppe ecosystems

“…2003) incorporated S. pallidicauda with S. alaschanicus Büchner, 1888. This was further explained by the use of the only known hybrid pallidicauda X alaschanicus having S. pallidicauda mtDNA instead of S. alaschanicus in this study (Kapustina et al . 2015a, Kapustina et al .…”

“…1978), except for an individual previously identified as a pallidicauda X alaschanicus hybrid (2n=36) (Korablev et al . 2006; Kapustina et al . 2015a).…”

“…2009; Kryštufek &Vohralík 2012). It was previously noted that mean sequence divergences are low between species in the subgenus Colobotis (Kapustina et al . 2015a).…”

“…The subgenus Colobotis includes the evolutionarily youngest Asian desert-steppe ground squirrels S. major, S. erythrogenys, S. brevicauda, S. pallidicauda, S. relictus , and S fulvus (Tsvirka et al . 2006; Kryštufek & Vohralík 2012; Kapustina et al . 2015a).…”

“…Other molecular phylogenies confirmed the species independence of S. pallidicauda and its relatedness to S. brevicauda (Ermakov et al . 2015; Kapustina et al . 2015a, Matrosova et al .…”