title: The Taxonomic Status of Mazama bricenii and the Significance of the Táchira Depression for Mammalian Endemism in the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela.
abstract: We studied the taxonomy and biogeography of Mazama bricenii, a brocket deer classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, drawing on qualitative and quantitative morphology and sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene. We used Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) to evaluate the hypothesis that M. bricenii of the Venezuelan Cordillera de Mérida (CM) might have become isolated from populations of its putative sister species, Mazama rufina, in the Colombian Cordillera Oriental (CO). This hypothesis assumes that warm, dry climatic conditions in the Táchira Depression were unsuitable for the species. Our analyses did not reveal morphological differences between specimens geographically attributable to M. bricenii and M. rufina, and phylogenetic analyses of molecular data recovered M. bricenii nested within the diversity of M. rufina. These results indicate that M. bricenii should be regarded as a junior synonym of M. rufina. ENM analyses revealed the existence of suitable climatic conditions for M. rufina in the Táchira Depression during the last glacial maximum and even at present, suggesting that gene flow between populations in the CO and CM may have occurred until at least the beginning of the current interglacial period and may continue today. Because this pattern might characterize other mammals currently considered endemic to the CM, we examined which of these species match two criteria that we propose herein to estimate if they can be regarded as endemic to the CM with confidence: (1) that morphological or molecular evidence exists indicating that the putative endemic taxon is distinctive from congeneric populations in the CO; and (2) that the putative endemic taxon is restricted to either cloud forest or páramo, or both. Only Aepeomys reigi, Cryptotis meridensis, and Nasuella meridensis matched both criteria; hence, additional research is necessary to assess the true taxonomic status and distribution of the remaining species thought to be CM endemics.
authors.affiliation: Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States of America; Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Eliécer E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States of America; Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jesús E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.affiliation: Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radosavljevic
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.affiliation: Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bruce D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Grupo Mastozoología & Colección Teriológica, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Martínez-C
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Amy R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.affiliation: Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States of America; Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, United States of America; Department of Environmental Science & Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Melissa T R
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Museo de Zoología, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Franger J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kristofer M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Helgen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D003670:Deer / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D017753:Ecosystem; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005843:Geography; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b