Abstract
Subterranean tuco-tucos of the genus Ctenomys are caviomorph rodents comprising a complex of over 50 nominal speciesfound in the southern half of South America. The validity of several nominal forms awaits a proper assessment. Thepopulation of Ctenomys from Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve (Mendoza, Argentina) has been classically considered torepresent a distinct species and has been commonly referred as Ctenomys “eremofilus”. Based on molecular andcytogenetic analysis we assessed the taxonomic status of the Ctenomys population of Ñacuñán. Specimens analyzedshowed two very similar chromosome complements (2n=48 and 2n=50), the latter being widely distributed in populationsof C. mendocinus. Similarly, haplotypes recovered from Ñacuñán specimens are very similar and sister to those recoveredfrom specimens of C. mendocinus. Considering this evidence we conclude that the individuals of Ctenomys from Ñacuñán population should be assignable to C. mendocinus.References
Albanese, S., Rodríguez, D., Dacar, M.A. & Ojeda, R.A. (2010) Use of resources by the subterranean rodent Ctenomys mendocinus (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae), in the lowland Monte desert, Argentina. Journal of Arid Environments, 74, 458–463.
Altuna, C.A., Francescoli, G., Tassino, B. & Izquierdo, G. (1999) Ecoetología y conservación de mamíferos subterráneos de distribución restringida: el caso de Ctenomys pearsoni (Rodentia, Octodontidae) en el Uruguay. Etología, 7, 47–54.
Bidau C.J., Martí, D.A. & Giménez, M.D. (2003) Two exceptional South American models for the study of chromosomal evolution: the tucura Dichroplus pratensis and the tuco-tuco of the genus Ctenomys. Historia Natural, 8, 53–72.
Bidau C.J. (2006). Familia Ctenomyidae. In: R.M. Barquez, M.M. Díaz & R.A. Ojeda (Eds), Mamíferos de Argentina, sistemática y distribución. SAREM (Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos), Tucumán, pp. 212–231.
Borghi, C.E., Giannoni, S.M. & Roig V.G.. (2002) Eye reduction in subterranean mammals and eye protective behavior in Ctenomys. Mastozoología Neotropical, 9, 123–134.
Borruel, N., Campos, C.M., Giannoni, S.M. & Borghi, C.E. (1998) Effect of herbivorous rodents (cavies and tuco-tucos) on a shrub community in the Monte Desert, Argentina. Journal of Arid Environments, 39, 33–37.
Castillo A.H., Cortinas, M. N. & Lessa E.P. (2005) Rapid diversification of South American tuco-tucos (Ctenomys; Rodentia, Ctenomyidae): contrasting mitochondrial and nuclear intron sequences. Journal of Mammalogy, 86, 170–179.
Chakrabarty, P. (2010) Genetypes: a concept to help integrate molecular systematics and traditional taxonomy. Zootaxa, 2632, 67–68.
Cicchino, A.C. & Castro, D. del C. (1998) Phtheiropoios mendocinus sp. nov. y estado del conocimiento de las demás especies del género Phtheiropoios Eichler, 1940 (Phthiraptera: Gyropidae) en la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina. Gayana, 62, 183–190.
Contreras, J.R. & Roig, V.G. (1975) Ctenomys eremofilus, una nueva especie de tucu-tuco de la Región Ñacuñán, provincia de Mendoza (Rodentia - Octodontidae). Actas IV Jornadas Argentinas de Zoología, 19.
Contreras, J.R. (1979) Lista faunística preliminar de los vertebrados de la Reserva Ecológica de Ñacuñán. Cuaderno Técnico IADIZA, 1, 39–47.
Contreras, J.R. (1981) El tunduque, un modelo de ajuste adaptativo. Serie Científica (Mendoza), 21, 22–25.
Contreras, J.R. & Bidau, C. J. (1999). Líneas generales del panorama evolutivo de los roedores excavadores sudamericanos del género Ctenomys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Caviomorpha, Ctenomyidae). Ciencia Siglo XXI, 1, 1–22.
Cook, J. A., Anderson, S. & Yates, T.L. (1990) Notes on Bolivian mammals 6. The genus Ctenomys (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae) in the highlands. American Museum Novitates, 2980, 1–27.
D’Anatro, A. & D’Elía, G. (2011) Incongruent patterns of morphological, molecular, and karyotypic variation among populations of Ctenomys pearsoni Lessa and Langguth, 1983 (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae). Mammalian Biology, 76, 36–40.
D’Elía, G., Lessa, E.P. & Cook, J.A. (1999) Molecular phylogeny of tuco-tucos, genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Octodontidae): evaluation of the mendocinus species group and the evolution of asymmetric sperm. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 6, 19–38.
Drummond, A. & Rambaut, A. (2007) BEAST: Bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling trees. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 7, 214.
Ellingsen, A., Slamovits, C.H. & Rossi, M.S. (2007) Sequence evolution of the major satellite DNA of the genus Ctenomys (Octodontidae, Rodentia). Gene, 392, 283–290.
Fernandes F.A., Goncalves G. L., Ximenes S. S. & de Freitas T.R.O. (2009) Karyotypic and molecular polymorphisms in Ctenomys torquatus (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae): taxonomic considerations. Genetica, 136, 449–459.
Freitas, T.R.O. (2001) Tuco-tucos (Rodentia: Octodontidae) in southern Brazil: Ctenomys lami spec. nov. separated from C. minutus Nehring, 1887. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Enviroment, 36, 1–8.
Freitas, T.R.O. (2007) Ctenomys lami: the highest chromosome variability in Ctenomys due to a centric fusion/fission and pericentric inversion system (Rodentia-Ctenomyidae). Acta Theriologica, 52, 171–180.
Garcia, L., Ponza, M., Egozcue, J. & Garcia, M. (2000) Cytogenetic variation in Ctenomys perrensi (Rodentia, Octodontidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 71, 615–624.
Galliari, C.A., Pardiñas, U.F.J. & Goin, F.J. (1996) Lista comentada de los mamíferos argentinos. Mastozoología Neotropical, 3, 39–62.
Giannoni, S.M., Borghi, C.E. & Roig, V.G. (1996) The burrowing behavior of Ctenomys eremophilus (Ctenomyidae, Rodentia) in relation with substrata hardness. Mastozoología Neotropical, 3, 5–12.
Goloboff, P., Farris, J. & Nixon, K. (2008) TNT, a free program for phylogenetic analysis. Cladistics, 24, 774–786.
Gonçalves, G. L. & de Freitas, T.R.O. (2009) Intraspecific variation and genetic differentiation of the collared Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys torquatus) in Southern Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy, 90, 1020–1031.
González, E.M. (2001) Guía de campo de los mamíferos del Uruguay, Introducción al estudio de los mamíferos. Vida Silvestre, Montevideo.
International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature. (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Fourth edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, c/o Natural History Museum, London. Available form http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/ (accessed 26 April 2012).
Keane, T., Creevey, C., Pentony, M., Naughton, T.J. & Mclnerney, J.O. (2006) Assessment of methods for amino acid matrix selection and their use on empirical data shows that ad hoc assumptions for choice of matrix are not justified. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 6, 29.
Kilblisky, P. & Reig, O.A. (1966) Variation in chromosome number within the genus Ctenomys and description of the male karyotype of Ctenomys talarum talarum Thomas. Nature, 212, 436–438
Lessa, E. P. & Cook, J. A. (1998) The molecular phylogenetics of tuco-tucos (genus Ctenomys, Rodentia: Octodontidae) suggests an early burst of speciation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 9, 88–99.
Massarini, A., Barros A., Roig V.G. y Reig, O.A. (1991a) Banded karyotypes of Ctenomys mendocinus (Rodentia: Octodontidae) from Mendoza, Argentina. Journal of Mammalogy, 72, 194–198.
Massarini, A., Barros, M.A., Roig, V.G. & Reig, O.A. (1991b) Banding Karyotypes of Ctenomys mendocinus from Mendoza, Argentina. Journal of Mammalogy, 72, 194–198.
Mirol, P., Giménez, M.D., Searle, J.B., Bidau, C.J. & Faulkes C.G. (2010) Population and species boundaries in the South American subterranean rodent Ctenomys in a dynamic environment. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 100, 368–383.
Novello, A. & Altuna, C.A. (2002) Cytogenetics and distribution of two new karyomorphs of the Ctenomys pearsoni complex (Rodentia, Octodontidae) from southern Uruguay. Mammalian Biology, 67, 188–192.
Ojeda, R.A., Campos, C.M., Gonnet, J., Roig, V.G. & Borghi, C.E. (1998) The MaB Reserve of Ñacuñán, Argentina: its role in understanding the Monte Desert biome. Journal of Arid Environments, 39, 299–313.
Ortells, M.O. (1995) Phylogenetic analysis of G-banded karyotypes among the South American subterranean rodents of the genus Ctenomys (Caviomorpha: Octodontidae), with special reference to chromosomal evolution and speciation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 54, 43–70.
Parada, A., D'Elía, G., Bidau, C. J. & Lessa, E. P. (2011) Species groups and the evolutionary diversification of tuco-tucos, genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). Journal of Mammalogy, 92, 671–682.
Patton J.L. (1967) Chromosome studies in certain pocket mouse, genus Perognathus (Rodentia, Heteromyidae). Journal of Mammalogy 48, 27–37.
Pearson O.P. & Lagiglia H.A. (1992) “Fuerte de San Rafael”: una localidad tipo ilusoria. Revista del Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael (Mendoza), 12, 35–43.
Reig, O.A. & Kiblisky, P. (1968) Chromosomes in four species of rodents of the genus Ctenomys (Rodentia, Octodontidae) from Argentina. Experientia, 24, 274–276.
Reig, O.A. & Kiblisky, P. (1969) Chromosome multiformity in the genus Ctenomys (Rodentia, Octodontidae). Chromosoma, 28, 211–244.
Reig, O. (1989) Karyotypic repatterning as one triggering factor in cases of explosive speciation. In: Fontdevila, A. (Ed.), Evolutionary biology of transient unstable populations. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany, pp. 246–289.
Reig, O.A., Busch, C. Ortells, M.O. & Contreras, J. R.. (1990) An overview of evolution, systematics, population biology, cytogenetics, molecular biology and speciation in Ctenomys. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, 335, 71–96.
Roig, F. A. & Rossi, B.E. (2001) Flora y vegetación. In: Claver, S. & Roig-Juñent, S. (Eds.), El desierto del Monte: La reserva de Biosfera de Nacuñán. Mendoza, Argentina, pp. 41–70.
Rosi, M.I., Scolaro, J.A. & Videla, F. (1992) Distribución y relaciones sistemáticas entre poblaciones del género Ctenomys (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae) de la provincia de Mendoza (Argentina). Miscellánia Zoológica, 16, 207–222.
Rosi, M. I., Cona, M. I. & Roig, V.G. (2002) Estado actual del conocimiento del roedor fosorial Ctenomys mendocinus Philippi 1869 (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). Mastozoología Neotropical, 9, 277–295.
Rosi, M. I., Puig, S., Cona, M. I., Videla, F., Méndez, E. & Roig, V. G. (2009) Diet of a fossorial rodent (Octodontidae), above-ground food availability, and changes related to cattle grazing in the Central Monte (Argentina). Journal of Arid Environments, 73, 273–279.
Slamovits, C. H., Cook, J.A., Lessa, E. P. & Rossi MS. (2001) Recurrent amplifications and deletions of satellite DNA accompanied chromosomal diversification in South American tuco-tucos (genus Ctenomys, Rodentia: Octodontidae): a Phylogenetic approach. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 18, 1708–1719.
Sumner A.T. (1972). A simple technique for demonstrating centromeric heterochromatin. Experimental Cell Research, 75, 304–306.
Tamura, K., Peterson D, Peterson N., Stecher G., Nei M., & Kumar S. (2011) MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis using Maximum Likelihood, Evolutionary Distance, and Maximum Parsimony Methods. Molecular Biology and Evolution doi: 10.1093/molbev/msr121.
Verma, R.S. & Babu, A. (1995) Human Chromosomes, Principles and Techniques. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York.