The Genomic Diversity of the Eliurus genus in northern Madagascar with a Putative New Species
The tufted-tail rats genus (Eliurus spp.) is the most speciose genus of endemic rodents in Madagascar, with 13 described species. In the present study, we investigated Eliurus spp. genomic diversity across northern Madagascar. From the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear genomic (RAD-seq) data of 124 Eliurus individuals sampled in poorly studied forests of northern Madagascar, we identified an undescribed Eliurus taxon (Eliurus sp. nova). We tested the hypothesis of a new Eliurus species using several approaches: i) DNA barcoding; ii) phylogenetic inferences; iii) species delimitation tests based on the Multi-Species Coalescent (MSC) model, iv) genealogical divergence index (gdi); v) the ad-hoc test of isolation-by-distance within versus between sister-taxa, vi) comparisons of %GC content patterns and vii) morphological analyses. All analyses support the recognition of the undescribed lineage as a distinct species.