Phylogeography of the Laotian Rock Rat (Diatomyidae:<i>Laonastes</i>): Implications for Lazarus Taxa

Lê, Minh Đức; Nguyen, Ha L.; Duong, Ha T. T.; Nguyên, Thành Vinh; Dinh, Long Doan; Nguyen, Nghia Xuan; Nguyen, Luong D.; Huy, Dinh, Tri; Nguyen, Dang Xuan

doi:10.3106/041.040.0206

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The life style of the species, which is a ground to tree-associated, forest dweller contrasts to the aforementioned distinctly karst adapted species pairs (see also Ziegler et al 2010;Loos et al 2012), can be attributed to the different evolution patterns. As the environmental conditions in karst are known to accelerate evolutionary processes (Nicolas et al 2012;Le et al 2015), the rapid adaptation to isolated local conditions compared with generalist ground to tree-associated taxa might offer an explanation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Today it is the transitional region between the subtropical plant communities of the North and the tropical ones of the South (Groves & Schaller 2000;Sterling et al 2006). New vertebrate species are still being discovered here, such as two larger mammalian species, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis and Muntiacus truongsonensis (Vu et al 1993;Pham et al 1998) and a rodent genus, the Laotian Rock Rat, Laonastes aenigmamus (Jenkins et al 2005;Aplin & Lunde 2008), suggesting that the Truong Son Range acted as a refugium for the survival of species since the mid Miocene (Sterling et al 2006;Le et al 2015). However, changing environmental conditions during the Pleistocene likely caused longitudinal and altitudinal contractions and expansions in the distribution of lizards (Sterling et al 2006;Corlett 2014), as evidenced in other vertebrate groups (Li et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution in karst massifs: Cryptic diversity among bent-toed geckos along the Truong Son Range with descriptions of three new species and one new country record from Laos

Luu

Bonkowski

Nguyen

et al. 2016

Zootaxa

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Species designated as 'cryptic' share a similar morphotype, and are often only clearly separable by molecular data. Cyrtodactylus, the most diverse gecko genus of the family Gekkonidae, is a prime example, because many morphologically similar taxa have only recently been identified as new species as a result of available genetic evidence. However, while cryptic diversity of Cyrtodactylus is already well documented on the Vietnamese side of the Truong Son range, only scarce data is available from central Laos. In this study, we address this issue by means of an integrative approach, which employs morphological, molecular, and ecological data to distinguish cryptic species of the Cyrtodacylus phongnhakebangensis species group primarily distributed along the northern Truong Son Range. Our analyses based on 12 selected morphological characters, a partial mitochondrial gene (COI), and five ecological parameters revealed three undescribed cryptic Cyrtodactylus species from Hin Nam No National Protected Area, which are described as Cyrtodactylus calamei sp. nov., Cyrtodactylus hinnamnoensis sp. nov., and Cyrtodactylus sommerladi sp. nov. A fourth discovered Cyrtodactylus population in Hin Nam No proved to be the first country record of C. cryptus for Laos. Our results highlight the importance of applying an integrative approach to resolving the taxonomy of complex and cryptic species groups, and the role of the Truong Son Range in maintaining the high level of biodiversity over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution in karst massifs: Cryptic diversity among bent-toed geckos along the Truong Son Range with descriptions of three new species and one new country record from Laos

Luu

Bonkowski

Nguyen

et al. 2016

Zootaxa

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“…Information of their localities is provided in Le et al. ( 2015 ). For phylogenetic and time calibration analyses, we selected six species as outgroups based on their phylogenetic relationships established by Huchon et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 2012 ; Le et al. 2015 ). The long temporal separation within a small distribution range (200 × 100 km) is especially interesting and likely a result of its ecological specialization to limestone environments and the fragmentation of these karst formations during the Late Miocene (Nicolas et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complete mitochondrial genomes of the Laotian Rock Rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) confirm deep divergence within the species

Lê

Peñaloza

Martins

et al. 2016

Mitochondrial DNA Part B

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Mitochondrial genomes of five Laotian Rock Rat ( Laonastes aenigmamus ) samples from Vietnam and Laos were sequenced using an Illumina platform. After de novo assembly, 13 protein-coding genes and two rRNA (12S and 16S) of the five genomes were aligned and analyzed with those from other related species under maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferences. Both methods revealed congruent tree topologies, which support two independently evolving clades of L. aenigmamus from Laos and Vietnam. The relaxed time calibration analysis showed that the two major lineages of the Laotian Rock Rat split about 8 million years ago, which was consistent with the results from previous studies using only cytochrome b sequences. Such a deep divergence time suggests the recognition of two rock rat species, but further nuclear DNA and morphological data are needed to solve the taxonomy of this taxon.

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Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Loria

Ehrenthal

Nguyen

et al. 2022

Insect Systematics and Diversity

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Southeast Asia is a hotspot of karst systems in the tropics and many relictual taxa have been documented in caves across the region. The ancient, relictual scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998 has a disjunct distribution and includes two hypogean subfamilies from caves in the Khammouan-Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng Karst in the northern Annamite (Trường Sơn) Mountains of Laos and Vietnam, and one epigean subfamily from Central Asia. A recent revision identified six species in the family; however, how these taxa dispersed and diversified into Southeast Asian cave systems has not been tested. In the present contribution, the phylogeny of Pseudochactidae is reconstructed using three mitochondrial and three nuclear markers and 140 morphological characters, divergence time and ancestral range estimation analyses are conducted, and the evolution of troglomorphic characters is investigated. Results confirm a previous hypothesis that Pseudochactidae originated in Eurasia, most likely near the Tajik block in the Carboniferous, supporting the ‘Out of Eurasia’ hypothesis and contradicting the ‘Eurogondwana’ and ‘Out of India’ hypotheses for the origin of Southeast Asian scorpions. Pseudochactidae dispersed across Southeast Asia after the collision of the Cimmerian continent and Indochina with Eurasia in the Late Jurassic. Colonization of Southeast Asian caves began in the Late Cretaceous and was completed by the Miocene. The onset of aridification in Southeast Asia during the Late Miocene resulted in the extinction of epigean Pseudochactidae, whereas hypogean members of the family likely survived within caves in the limestone massifs of the Annamite Mountains, supporting the ‘Climate Relict’ hypothesis.

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Phylogeography of the Laotian Rock Rat (Diatomyidae:Laonastes): Implications for Lazarus Taxa

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Evolution in karst massifs: Cryptic diversity among bent-toed geckos along the Truong Son Range with descriptions of three new species and one new country record from Laos

Evolution in karst massifs: Cryptic diversity among bent-toed geckos along the Truong Son Range with descriptions of three new species and one new country record from Laos

Complete mitochondrial genomes of the Laotian Rock Rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) confirm deep divergence within the species

Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

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