title: Molecular phylogeny of the Herpestidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) with a special emphasis on the Asian Herpestes.
abstract: Until now, phylogenetic studies of the mongooses (Carnivora, Herpestidae) have not included an exhaustive sampling of the Asian members of this family. In this study, we used mitochondrial (Cytochrome b and ND2), nuclear (beta-fibrinogen intron 7 and Transthyretin intron 1) sequences from almost all of the recognized mongoose species to produce a well-resolved phylogeny of the Herpestidae. We also performed molecular dating analyses to infer divergence dates of the different lineages within the Herpestidae. Our results confirmed the paraphyly of the Herpestes genus and other phylogenetic relationships, which previously had only been moderately supported. The Asian herpestid species were found to form a monophyletic group within the Herpestidae. Within the Asian species, a cyto-nuclear conflict was discovered between the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), the Indian gray mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) and the Javan mongoose (Herpestes javanicus), which may have occurred through interspecific hybridization. This study inferred an Early Miocene origin for the Herpestidae and a Middle Miocene origin for the Asian mongooses.
authors.affiliation: Unité Origine, Structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité (CNRS UMR 7205), Département Systématique et Evolution, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CP 51, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France. patou@mnhn.fr
authors.forename: Marie-Lilith
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Patou
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: McLenachan
authors.forename: Craig G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Morley
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Couloux
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Veron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008988:Herpestidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial