Molecular Phylogeny Supports Repeated Adaptation to Burrowing within Small-Eared Shrews Genus of Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae).
Small-eared shrews of the New World genus Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) comprise at least 42 species that traditionally have been partitioned among four or more species groups based on morphological characters. The Cryptotis mexicana species group is of particular interest, because its member species inhibit a subtly graded series of forelimb adaptations that appear to correspond to locomotory behaviors that range from more ambulatory to more fossorial. Unfortunately, the evolutionary relationships both among species in the C. mexicana group and among the species groups remain unclear. To better understand the phylogeny of this group of shrews, we sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. To help interpret the pattern and direction of morphological changes, we also generated a matrix of morphological characters focused on the evolutionarily plastic humerus. We found significant discordant between the resulting molecular and morphological trees, suggesting considerable convergence in the evolution of the humerus. Our results indicate that adaptations for increased burrowing ability evolved repeatedly within the genus Cryptotis.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America; Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Kai
K
He
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America; USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America.
Neal
N
Woodman
Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America; Department of Biology, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, United States of America.
Sean
S
Boaglio
Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Mariel
M
Roberts
Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America; Department of Biology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, United States of America.
Sunjana
S
Supekar
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America; Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America.
Jesús E
JE
Maldonado
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000235:genetics; D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006811:Humerus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012788:Shrews / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D045303:Cytochromes b