title: Paleogenetic analyses reveal unsuspected phylogenetic affinities between mice and the extinct Malpaisomys insularis, an endemic rodent of the Canaries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The lava mouse, Malpaisomys insularis, was endemic to the Eastern Canary islands and became extinct at the beginning of the 14(th) century when the Europeans reached the archipelago. Studies to determine Malpaisomys' phylogenetic affinities, based on morphological characters, remained inconclusive because morphological changes experienced by this insular rodent make phylogenetic investigations a real challenge. Over 20 years since its first description, Malpaisomys' phylogenetic position remains enigmatic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we resolved this issue using molecular characters. Mitochondrial and nuclear markers were successfully amplified from subfossils of three lava mouse samples. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions revealed, without any ambiguity, unsuspected relationships between Malpaisomys and extant mice (genus Mus, Murinae). Moreover, through molecular dating we estimated the origin of the Malpaisomys/mouse clade at 6.9 Ma, corresponding to the maximal age at which the archipelago was colonised by the Malpaisomys ancestor via natural rafting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study reconsiders the derived morphological characters of Malpaisomys in light of this unexpected molecular finding. To reconcile molecular and morphological data, we propose to consider Malpaisomys insularis as an insular lineage of mouse.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pagès
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chevret
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gros-Balthazard
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Josep Antoni
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Alcover
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hutterer
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rando
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Michaux
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hänni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016477:Artifacts; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010163:Paleontology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012377:Rodentia / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA