Systematics and ecology of the brush-tailed mice, Calomyscus, in and around Pakistan based on the Rbp3 gene
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Date
2019-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Family Calomyscidae is a group of muroid rodents consisting of the single genus Calomyscus
with only 8 recognized species of brush-tailed mice. The genus is informally separated into three
species groups, and my focus was on the southern C. bailwardi species group consisting of C.
bailwardi, C. hotsoni, and C. baluchi. I analyzed how species present in this species group are
related and investigated potential species suggested by previous studies. Interphotoreceptor
retinoid-binding protein (Rbp3) sequences were obtained and a maximum parsimony network
was constructed. The Rbp3 network supports C. sp. Khy of northern Pakistan and C. sp. B of the
Zagros Mountains in Iran to be new species, which had been suggested by Cytb and genomic
analyses. The network less robustly supports separation of C. hotsoni, which shares a haplotype
with one C. baluchi sample. Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) indicates C. baluchi has a high
affinity in its current distribution and has relatively good suitability throughout most regions
where Calomyscus are generally known to inhabit. It also shows that C. baluchi has some
suitability in the far north of Pakistan, but at lower elevations such as river valleys. The ENM
model for C. sp. Khy indicates that this proposed species is highly specialized, with very little
suitability outside where it was collected. The ENM model for C. hotsoni shows a general
suitability throughout much of the projected distribution, although lower than C. baluchi.
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Keywords
Calomyscidae, Balochistan, Hindu Kush, Ecological Niche Modeling